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INCIDENTS 



ANECDOTES OF THE ¥AR: 



TOGETHER TTITH 



LIFE SKETCHES OP EMINENT LEADERS, 



AND NARRATITES OP TIIB 



Most Hemorable Battles for the Union. 



EDITED BY 



ORVILLE J.' VICTOR, 

AtrrnoR of " history of the southern rebellion," " life of garibaldi " " life 

OP WIXFIELD SCOTT," "LIFE OP ANTHONY WAYNE," &C. &G. 




IftlTgcrrli: 






JAMES D. TORREY, P UB LI S I^R^j^|- ov ^J^^'"''' 
13 SPRUCE STREET. 



U tl -^'^ ^^' ^^ 



Enter?d, according to Act of Congress, in the j'oar 1S62, by James D. Torrky, in the Clerk': 
Office of t'ae District Court of the Uuitod States for the Sb.ithiTU District of Kevv York. 



Z I ^ 



OTRODUCTION. 



When Cassius M. Clay offered his services to tlie Secretary 
of War, to raise a regiment of Kentucky volunteers, or to sen'-e 
as a private in the ranks, the Secretary expressed his surprise, 
saying : " Sir, this is the first instance I ever heard of a foreigTi 
Minister [Clay had been nominated as U. S. Minister to Eus- 
sia,] volunteering for service in the ranks." "Then let us 
make a little history !" exclaimed the gallant Kentuckian. 

Clay only typified the spirit which prevailed in almost all 
conditions of life at the North, when the tocsin was sounded 
in April, 1861. The world never before witnessed such an 
uprising. It was as if the whole current of thought and feel- 
ing had been changed in a day. Men met on the marts to 
forget all about stocks and market quotations, to prove the de- 
gree of then- own loyalty to the Government. Congi'egations 
gathered in the Churches to forget creeds and theological dif- 
ferences in their absorbing devotion to the salvation of the 
Country. Women gathered to forget small-talk and social tri- 
bulations in the noble enthusiasm ever awakened in woman's 
bosom when great emergencies come. Schools were listless, 
and the eyes of both teachers and pupils turned longingly to 
the streets where the people were gathering. The solemn 
tread of regiments was answered by the acclamations of the 
gathered thousands who everywhere thronged the highways. 
Men met friends changed to soldiers, and with a benediction 
bade them adieu. Fathers, mothers and sisters sat down to 
the evening meal to find one chair vacant, and the prayer 
which went up from that family circle called down God's bless- 
ing on the absent one. It was, indeed, the season of sorrow. 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

but it was also tlie carnival of patriotism. The world may 
never witness its like again. Let us pray that an overruling 
Providence may spare the country from another such visitation 
of treason, when citizens shall fly to arms to protect with their 
lives and fortunes their beloved country. So let us pray ! 

The incidents of joy and sorrow, of pleasure and pain, con- 
nected with that Great Awakening, would fill a book — ^would 
make a volume to become the treasured tome for to-day, for 
to-morrow, and for the long years to come. It will only be 
made by time. When the war is past, and the soldier returns 
to rejoin the home he has so long forsaken — alas ! how many 
homes will never have their doorway darkened again by the 
forms of their loved ones ! — then will come forth the incidents 
of that patriot-service, to make then- way over the community 
and become a part of the neighborhood's treasures. Those 
treasures, time will surely gather and present in a folio, which 
each loyal home will love to call its own. It will be our pur- 
pose to go over the field and glean what we may. Enough 
already has been recorded to make such a volume as we now 
propose. We shall devote a few weeks to gathering the scat- 
tered leaves — thus to contribute our share to the store from 
which the Home-Tome of the War shall be made hereafter, by 
some loving and competent hand. 

We have superadded Life Sketches of Ellsworth, Winthrop, 
Baker, Lyon — all offered up as sacrifices upon the altar of 
Liberty. May their memory ever be held dear ! Also biog- 
raphies of General Scott and General McClellan. Also concise 
but explicit accounts of those conflicts which stand forth in 
the History of the War as " representative" events. 





CONTENTS. 




CUAPTER. 




FAGK. 




Introdtjction 


3 


r. 


The Awakening 


7 


n. 


The New Nation 


. 33 


ni. 


The Mustering 


39 


IV. 


The Poets 


. 49 


V. 


Early Incidents 


67 


VI. 


The Humors of the Hour .... 


. 78 


VII. 


The Spirit of the South . . ' . 


85 


VIII. 


The First and Second Tragedy- 


. 91 


IX. 


Ellsworth 


101 


X. 


The First Capture of the Flag .... 


. 114 


XL 


A Northern Breeze from the South 


120 


XII. 


General Scott 


. 127 


xni. 


McClellan's First Campaign 


141 


XIV. 


The First Disaster 


. 153 


XV. 


Major Winthrop 


161 


XVI. 


The Second Disaster 


. 168 


XVII. 


Incidents of the Battle of Bull Run . 


178 


XVIII. 


General McClellan 


. 187 


XIX. 


The Third Disaster 


197 


XX. 


Incidents of Ball's Bluff Disaster . 


. 209 


XXI. 


Colonel Baker . ... 


216 


xxn. 


Joseph Holt and the Kentucky Soldiers . 


. 229 


xxin. 


The Spirit of Violence in the South . 


237 


2a2 







VI 



CONTENTS, 



CHArTER. 

XXIV. 
XXV. 



XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 

XXXIX. 

XL. 
XLI. 



Treason in Tennessee . . . 

Persecution of Unionists in Tennessee — Parson 

Brownlow's Story 

Tlie Campaign in Missouri. The First Disaster 
Incidents of tlie "Wilson's Creek Disaster . 

General Lyon 

Tlie Second Disaster in Missouri. The Siege and 

Fall of Lexington 

The Charge of the Three Hundred . . . . 

Bombardment of the Port Royal Forts 

Incidents of the Capture of the Port Royal Forts . 

The Fall of Forts Henry and Donelson 

Incidents of the Battles before Fort Donelson 

The Battle of Pittsburg Landing 

Incidents of the Battle of Pittsburg Landing . 

A Digression ....... 

Bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philij), and 

Fall of New Orleans 

Incidents at the Boml^ardment of Forts Jackson 

and St. Philip, and Fall of New Orleans 
Secession Atrocity on the Field . . . . 
Anecdotes and Incidents 



PAGE. 

252 

2G0 
276 
291 
2GG 

301 
303 
318 
323 
329 
339 
343 
858 
3GG 



380 
88G 
392 



IXCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF THE WAR. 



I. 

THE AWAKENING. 

April 19th, 1775, the blood of the Men of Massachusetts, 
the first martyrs in the cause of American Independence, was 
shed at Lexington. 

April 19th, 1861, the blood of the Men of Massachusetts, the 
first martjrrs in the cause of the American Union, was shed at 
Baltimore. 

How the news flew over the land to arouse the already 
awakening vengeance of the Men of 1775 I The blood of 
Lexington had not become dry ere the beacon-fires of alarm 
gleamed from the hills. While the young men flew to arms, 
the old men leaped into the saddle, to herald the tragedy and 
call the country to its defense. The message flew from lip to 
lip, from hill-top to hill-top, "until village repeated it to vil- 
lage ; the sea to the backwoods ; the plains to the highlands , 
and it was never sufiered to droop till it had been borne North 
and South, and East and West throughout the land. It spread 
over the bays that receive the Saco and the Penobscot. Its 
loud reveille broke the rest of the trappers of New Hampshire, 
and ringing like bugle-notes from peak to peak, overleapt the 
Green Mountains, swept onward to Montreal, and descended 
the ocean river, till the responses were echoed fi-om tlie cliff at 
Quebec. The hills along the Hudson told to one another the 
tale." The summons hurried to the South. In one day it was 
at New York ; in one more at Philadelphia ; then it flew to 



8 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

the SoTitli, to the West — was borne along the sea-coast to 
awaken the answering shout from bajs, and sounds, and har- 
bors — was hurried over the AUeghanies to awaken the note of 
response in the solemn wilds of the pathless West. 

How sublimely did the men of that time respond to the 
call ! The ferries over the Merrimac swarmed with the men 
of New Hampshire. Three days after that cry " to arms f 
John Stark was on the Boston hills with his invincible bat- 
talion. From Connecticut came Putnam, the man of iron, rid- 
ing his horse one hundred miles in eighteen hours, and gather- 
ing as he ran a troop of followers, each armed with a rifle as 
true in its aim as the heart of its owner was loyal to Freedom. 
Little Rhode Island had a thousand of her resolute and hardy 
sons before Boston ere the oppressor had retreated from his 
sacrifice at Concord, and Nathaniel Greene was Rhode Island's 
leader. Thirty thousand patriots in a few days hemmed in the 
city of Boston, where the British had taken up their deiiant 
stand ; and the tragedy of Bunker's Hill was soon enacted 
before her gates. 

How all this sounds like the rush to arms in 1861 1 Sounds 
like it because the cause was the same — the defense of Consti- 
tutional Liberty and Inalienable Rights ; because the loyal men 
of '61 were worthy sons of the sires of '75 ; while the enemy 
of '61 were the degenerate sons of their sires, bent upon the 
destruction of those institutions which the heart of Liberty and 
the hand of Freedom had built. It was a cause worthy of the 
devotion lavished upon it ; and history will never tire of re- 
cording the generous deeds of those who answered the call for 
men to " suppress treasonable combinations and to cause the 
laws to be duly enforced." 

The Diary of Events, from the fall of Sumter to May 1st, 
deserves to be preserved in every man's memory^ The events 
were so extraordinary in themselves, the spirit in which the 
people acted was so astonishingly alive with devotion to the 
country and the sustenance of its laws, that another generation 
will study the story with amazement. As preliminary to our 
»vork, we may offer the record of that remarkable Awakening. 



OF THE WAE. 9 

April IStb, 1861. The attack upon Fort Sumter, and its 
surrender, instead of depressing, fires and animates all patriotic 
hearts. One deep, strong, overpowering sentiment now sweeps 
over the whole community — a sentiment of determined, de- 
voted, active loyalty. The day for the toleration of treason — 
treason to the Constitution ! defiance to the laws that we have 
made ! — has gone by. The people have discovered that what 
they deemed almost impossible, has actually come to pass, and 
that the rebels are determined to break up this Government, 
if the}- can do it. With all such purposes they are determined 
to maize an end as speedily as may be. 

— The Pennsylvania Legislature passed the war bill, last 
evening, without amendment. Previous to its passage the 
news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter was announced, and 
produced a profound sensation. The bill appropriates five 
hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of arming and equip- 
ping the militia ; authorizes a temjjorary loan ; provides for 
the appointment of an Adjutant-General, Commissary-General, 
and Quartermaster-General, who, with the Governor, are to 
have power to carry the act into effect. 

April 15th. The President of the United States called by 
proclamation for 75,000 volunteers to suppress insurrectionary 
combinations ; and commanded " the persons composing the 
combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peaceably to their 
respective abodes within twenty daj^s." In the same proclama- 
tion, an extra session of both Houses of Congress was called 
for the -Ith of July. 

— Large Union meetings were held at Detroit, Mich., West- 
chester and Pittsburgh, Pa., Lawrence, Mass., and Dover, N. H. 
At Pittsburgh the meeting was opened by the Mayor, who in- 
troduced the venerable William Wilkinson. Mr. Wilkinson 
was made President of the meeting. About twenty-five Vice- 
Presidents were also appointed. Eesolutions were adopted, 
declaring undying fealty to the Union, approving the course 
of the Legislative and Executive branches of the State Govern- 
ment in responding to the call of the President, disregarding 
all partisan feeling, and pledging then' lives, fortunes, and 



10 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

sacred lienor in the defense of tlie Union, and appointing a 
Committee of Public Safety. 

— Governor Yates, of Illinois, issued a proclamation to convene 
tlie Legislature at Springfield, on tlie 23d of April, for the pur- 
pose of enacting such laws and adopting such measures as may- 
be deemed necessary upon the following subject, to wit: The 
more perfect organization and equipment of the militia of the 
State, and placing the same upon the best footing, to render 
efficient assistance to the General Government in preserving 
the Union, enforcing the laws, protecting the property and 
rights of the people, and also the raising of such money, and 
other means, as may be required to carry out the foregoing 
objects. 

— At Philadelphia the Union pledge is receiving the signature 
of all classes of citizens. It responds to the President's pro- 
clamation, and declares an unalterable determination to sustain 
the Government, throwing aside all differences of political 
opinion. 

— An excited crowd assembled this morning before the print- 
ing office on the corner of Fourth and Chestnut streets, where 
the Palmetto Flag, a small advertising sheet, is published, and 
threatened to demolish it. The proprietor clisplaj^ed the 
American flag, and threw the objectionable papers from the 
windows — also, the Stars and Stnj)es, another papei'*printed at 
the same office, restoring the crowd to good-humor. The 
crowd moved down to the Argus office in Third street, oppo- 
site Dock street, ordering that the flag should be displayed. 

— After visiting the newspaper offices and Government pro- 
perty, they marched in a body up Market street, bearing a flag. 
At all points on the route, well-known Union men were obliged 
to make all haste to borrow, beg, or steal something red, white, 
and blue, to protect their property with. Searches were made 
for the publication rooms of the Southern Monitor; but as that 
paper had suspended, the mob were unable to carry out their 
intention of destroying the forms. They satisfied themselves 
with breaking the signs to pieces. The ring-leaders were fur- 
Uished with ropes, with which to hang the editor if caught. 
2 



OF THE WAR. 11 

During the afternoon, General Patterson's mansion, conier 
of Thirteenth aucl Locust streets, was mobbed and threatened 
with destruction, A servant answered their call, and unfor- 
tunately slammed the door in their faces. The crowd became 
uproarious and violent, and made an attempt to force open the 
door. General Patterson finally appeared at the window, bear- 
ing the colors of the regiment. The crowd then moved away. 
It is understood that General Patterson, who is charged with 
secessionism, intends throwing up his commission. 

They then visited General Cadwallader, who made a Union 
speech and threw out a flag. Several prominent Southerners, 
with secession proclivities, including Robert Tyler, have received 
warnings from a so-called Vigilance Committee. 

The following is the speech that was made by ISfayor Henry 
to the excited mob which threatened the Palmetto Flag 
building : 

" Fellow Citizens : By the grace of Almight}'- God, treason 
shall never rear its head or have a foothold in Philadelphia, 
[Immense cheering.] I call upon you as American citizens to 
stand by your flag and protect it at all hazards — at the point 
of the bayonet, if necessary ; but, in doing so, remember the 
rights due your fellow-citizens and their private property. 
[Immense cheering.] That flag is an emblem of the Govern- 
ment, and I call upon all good citizens who love their country 
and its flag, to testify their loj-alty by going to their respective 
places of abode, leaving to the constituted authorities of the 
city the task of protecting the peace, and preventing every act 
which could be construed into treason to their country." The 
Mayor then hoisted the Stars and Stripes. 

— Seventeen vessels were seized in the port of New York from 
ports in southern States, their clearances being improper, and 
not signed by United States officers. They were fined $100 
each, and some were held subject to forfeiture. 

— Albany, New York, has presented an unwonted appearance 
all day to-day. The Capitol has been thronged with citizens 
who have apparently left their business to gather at head-quar- 
ters, and watch eagerly the progress of events. The spirit of 



12 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

tlie masses is decidedly aroused, and, from present indications, 
Albany will be behind no city in the State or Union in evinc- 
ing her patriotism and her determination, as the crisis has 
come, to stand firmly by the Government of the conntiy, with- 
out pausing to charge upon any the responsibility of the pre- 
sent ten-ible events. 

— The Directors of the Bank of Commerce, of Providence, R L, 
advanced a loan of $30,000 to the State, for aiding in the outfit 
of troops. Large offers from private citizens have also been 
made to Governor Sprague for a similar purpose. The Globe 
Bank tendered to the State a loan of $50,000. 

— An enthusiastic Union meeting was held at Cleveland, 
Ohio. Speeches were made by Senator Wade, and other pro- 
minent gentlemen. Eesolutions were adopted to sustain the 
Government, approving of the President's call for volunteers, 
recommending the Legislature to make appropriations of men 
and money, and appointing a committee to ascertain the ef- 
ficiency of the Cleveland militia. 

— Fernando Wood, Mayor of New York, issued a proclama- 
tion, calling upon the peoj)le of the city to avoid turbulence 
and excitement, and to rally to the restoration of the Constitu- 
tion and Union. 

— An immense Union meeting held in Tro}^, New York, ad- 
journed in a body to the vicinity of General Wool's residence. 
In response to the patriotic address of the chairman, General 
Wool rejoiced at the glorious demonstration. Never before 
had he been filled with such a measure of joy. He had 
fought under the old flag, but had only done his duty. His 
appeal in behalf of his country's honor was very touching. 
" Will you," he said, " permit the Stars and Stripes to be dese- 
crated and trampled in the dust by traitors now ? Will you 
permit our noble Government to be destroyed by rebels, in 
order that they may advance their schemes of political am- 
bition and extend the area of slavery ? It cannot be done ! 
The spirit of the age forbids. Humanity and manhood forbid 
it. The sentiment of the civilized world forbids it. That flag 
\aust be lifted from the dust and saved from sacrilege at the 



OF THE WAR. 13 

hands of apostates to truth, liberty, and honor. I pledge you 
my heart, my hand, my energies to the cause. The Union 
shall be maintained. I am prepared to devote my life to the 
work, and to lead you in the struggle." 

— The Governor of Kentucky, in reply to Secretary Came- 
ron's call for troops from that State, says : " Your dispatch is 
received. In answer, I say emphatically, Kentucky will fur- 
nish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister 
Southern States. ' B. Magoffin." 

— General visitation, by the populace, to newspaper offices 
in New York and several other cities. Newspapers regarded 
as of doubtful loyalty are compelled to run out the Stars and 
Stripes. 

April 16th. A gi'eat Union meeting was held to-day at Ty- 
rone, Pa. Ex-U. S. Senator Bigler expressed unequivocal sen- 
timents of loyalty, and called upon the people to sustain the 
Government in the exercise of its energies to suppress rebellion. 

— The Ringgold Flying Artillery, of Reading, Pa., Captain 
James McKnight, 180 men, with four field-pieces, received a 
requisition from the Governor this morning to set out this 
evening, at six o'clock, for Harrisburg, the place of rendezvous 
for the first Pennsylvanians in the field. Two military com- 
panies from Tyrone, two from Altoona, and two from Holli- 
daysburg, will leave to-morrow for Harrisburg. 

— Four regiments, ordered to report for service in Boston, 
Mass., commenced arriving there before nine A. M. this morning, 
the companies first arriving not having received their orders 
until last night. Already about thirty companies have arrived, 
nu.mbering over 1,700 men in uniform., and with these are 
several hundred who are importunate to be allowed to join the 
ranks. 

— The City Government of Lawrence, Mass., appropriated 
$5,000 for the benefit of the families of those who have volun- 
teered to defend the country's flag. 

— Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut, issued a proclama- 
tion calling for volunteers, to rendezvous at Hartford. 

— The Mechanics', Elm City, Fairfield County, Thames, and 
B 



14 IN'CIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

other banks of Connecticut, voted large sums of money to 
assist in equipping the troops, and the support of their families. 

— New Hampshire responds to the President's proclamation, 
and will furnish the troops required. The Concord Union 
Bank tendered a loan of $20,000 to the Governor, and all the 
Directors, with the Cashier, agree to contribute $100 each to 
the support of such families of the volunteers of Concord, as 
may fall in defending the flag of the countrj^ 

— The session of the New York East Methodist Conference 
was opened by the following prayer : " Grant, O God, that all 
the efforts now being made to overthrow rebellion in our dis- 
tracted country, may be met with every success. Let the 
forces that have risen against our Government, and Thy law, 
be scattered to the winds, and may no enemies be allowed to 
prevail against us. Grant, God, that those who have aimed 
at the very heart of the republic may be overthrown. We ask 
Thee to bring these men to destruction, and wipe them from 
the face of the country !" 

— Governor Letcher, of Virginia, responds to the demand for 
troops : " I have only to say that the militia of Virginia luill 
not he furnished to the powers at Washington for any such use or 
purpose as they have in view. Your object is to subjugate the 
Southern States, and a requisition made upon me for such an 
object — an object, in my judgment, not within the purview of 
the Constitution or the Act of 1795 — will not be complied 
with. You have chosen to inaugurate civil luar, and, having done 
so, lue ivill meet it in a sjnrit as determined as the Administration ■ 
has exhihited towards the Souths 

— The Governor of North Carolina refused to comply with 
the call, expressing his doubts as to the President's authority 
to make the call. He, at the same date, made quick prepara 
tions to seize all Government property in the State, and to 
place the State on a footing of military efficiency. 

— A large meeting of German workmen held in Newark, New 
Jersey. The Germans everywhere in the North evince a spirit 
of great devotion to the cause of the Union. 

— G eneral Cass, late Secretary of State, in a speech at De- 



OFTHEWAR. 15 

^;roit, took the strongest ground for the Union. Every citizen, 
he declared, should stand by the Government. 

— Great meetings are held to-day throughout the cl:^ief towns 
in the Western States. The people are represented as " all on 
fire," — all parties " fusing" on the common ground of devotion 
. to the Union. Intense enthusiasm prevails. A volunteer roll 
opened at ]\Iichigan City, Indiana, was first signed by a minis- 
ter of. the Gospel. The first company of Indiana Volunteers 
left Lafayette, to-daj?-, for the rendezvous at Indianapolis. Over 
two hundred companies are represented as nearly formed in 
the State, ready for regimental organization. Illinois is not 
behind. Ohio has moved with alacrity. Captain McClellan 
will be made Major-General, to command the Ohio Volunteers. 

— Virginia " seceded" to-day, and her Governor issued a 
proclamation acknowledging the Independence of the Southern 
Confederacy. 

— Washington City is regarded as in great danger of seizure 
by the Secessionists of Virginia, aided by a mob of cut-throats 
from Baltimore. Colonel Ben McCullous;h is known to be 
chief of the organization for the seizure of the Capital. The 
Southern papers generally regard the seizure as certain, and it 
is proclaimed that the Davis Government will occupy the Capi- 
tal. Great precautions are being taken by General Scott to 
guard the place. The cit}^ is under arms. Volunteer compa- 
nies, comprising Members of Congress and Government em- 
ployees, are organized, armed and on duty. The District 
militia is enrolled and in service, under command of Adjutant- 
General McDowell. Large numbers of Northern men, singly 
and in squads, are hurrying to the Capital to enlist in its de- 
fense. One entire battalion of Philadelphia troops reach the 
city — the first volunteers in the field. 

— Jefferson Davis to-day issued his proclamation, initiating 
the privateer system. 

April 18. Governor Harris, of Tennessee, replies to Presi- 
dent Lincoln's call for two regiments of troops, by saying that 
" Tennessee will not famish a single man for coercion, but fifty 



16 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

thousand, if necessary, for tlie defense of our rights, or those 
of our Southern brothers." 

— Grovernor Jackson, of Missouri, answers Secretary Came- 
ron by telhng him that his " requisition is illegal, unconsti- 
tutional, revolutionary, inhuman, diabolical, and cannot be 
complied with," 

— The Common Council of Boston appropriated $100,000 to 
provide for soldiers enlisting from Boston. The Lowell city 
government appropriated $8,000 for soldiers' families. 

— The banks in Trenton, K J., Chicago, 111., Portland, Me., 
subscribed in support of the Federal Government A meeting 
of the officers, representing all the Boston (Mass.) banks, was 
held this morning, when reiolutions were adopted to loan the 
State of Massachusetts 10 per cent, on their entire capital for 
the defense of the Government The capital of the Boston 
banks amounts to $38,800,000. 

— At Pittsburg, Pa., an intense war feeling prevails. Busi- 
ness is almost suspended. Immense crowds throng all the 
prominent streets, flags are floating everywhere, and the volun- 
teer companies are all filled and departing eastward. Liberal 
subscriptions are being made for the comfort of volunteers and 
the support of their families, llecruiting is still going on, al- 
though there are more than enough for the requirements of the 
State to fill the Federal requisition. A Committee of Public 
Safety held a meeting to-day, and organized. A large quantity 
of powder which had been sent down the river, was intercepted 
at Steubenville, it being feared it would fall into the hands of 
the Secessionists. Ropes were suspended to lamp-posts last 
night, by unknown persons, labelled " Death to traitors." Some 
assaults have been made on persons who have expressed sym- 
pathy with the Secessionists. 

— Lieutenant R Jones, of the United States army, in com- 
mand at Harper's Ferry with forty-three men, clestroj^ed tlie 
arsenal at that place and retreated. He was advised that a 
force of 2,500 men had been ordered to take his post, by 
Governor Letcher ; and he put piles of powder in straw in all 



OPTHEWAE. 17 

the buildings, and quietly awaited the approach of the enemj. 
When his picket-guard gave the alarm that 600 Virginians 
were approaching by the Winchester road, the men were run 
out of the arsenal and the combustibles fired. The people 
fired upon the soldiers, killing two, and rushed into the ar- 
senal. All the works, munitions of war, and 15,000 stand of 
arms were destroyed. 

— An intimation is given that the U. S. volunteers will be 
assailed, if any attempt is made to pass to Washington through 
Baltimore. The Baltimore canaille is being excited to a mob 
spirit by secession emissaries. 

— The Sixth Massachusetts regiment pass through New 
York en route for Washington, via Baltimore. 

— The Mayor of Baltimore and the Governor of Maryland 
unite in a proclamation, urging the people to preserve the 
peace. The Governor stated that no Maryland troops should 
be placed at the General Government's disposal, except for the 
defense of the Capital. 

— An immense mass Union meeting was held in Louisville, 
this evening. 

— Governor Morgan, of New York, issued his Proclamation 
for volunteers. 

— Major Anders(m and his command aiTive in New York on 
the transport Baltic. They have an enthusiastic reception. 

April 19. The President of the United States issues his 
Proclamation of Blockade of the ports in the rebellious States. 

— A most important session of the New York Chamber of 
Commerce is held to-day. Perfect harmony prevailed. The 
Government was sustained, and a Committee of the leading 
capitalists appointed to insure the taking of nine millions of 
the Treasury loan yet on the market. The resolutions adopted 
fairly rung with decision and patriotism. As the Chamber 
represented over two hundred millions of dollars in actual re- 
sei've, the proceedings were regarded as of the highest import- 
ance. From that moment the men of wealth of the metropolis 
were almost unanimously committed to the policy of an over- 
b2 3 



18 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

wlielming demonstration of tlie Government's power against its 
enemies. 

— An American flag, forty by twenty feet, was run ont on 
Trinity Church spire, New York. The church bells chimed 
national airs in honor of the occasion. 

— An attack is made, by the Baltimore ruffians, on the Mas- 
sachusetts Sixth and the Pennsylvania Seventh regiments, 
which were passing through the city en route for Washington. 
The Massachusetts men occupied eleven cars. Nine cars suc- 
ceeded in reaching the Washington depot : the other two were 
cut off by the mob, when their troops alighted, formed a solid 
square, and, preceded by the Mayor and police, marched up 
Pratt street for the depot. Brickbats, stones, and pieces of iron 
were hurled at the troops, but, obeying orders, they withheld 
any demonstration against their assailants, notwithstanding 
several of the men were seriously injiired. This leniency only 
served to inflame the mob to further violence. Attempts were 
made to seize the muskets of the men, and a pistol-shot from a 
window killed one of the soldiers. The ruffian who committed 
the deed was immediately shot by one of the soldiers. An 
immediate passage of shots followed — the solid square, with 
fixed bayonets, led by the Mayor, still pressing on to the de- 
pot, bearing their wounded and dead in their centre. The de- 
pot was at length reached, when it was found that two of the 
Massachusetts men were killed and eight wounded — one mor- 
tally. Eleven of the mob were killed and thirteen wounded. 
This affair so fearfully excited the people of Baltimore that, for 
several days, the mob virtually reigned uncontrolled, overaw- 
ing the Mayor and Governor, and finding coadjutors in the 
Chief of Police and the Police Board. The Chief of Police 
sped a dispatch and sent runners over the country to hurry 
fo]-ward the secession emissaries to " drive back the Northern 
invaders." His dispatch, soon brought to light, proved the 
fellow to be one of the secret agents of the traitors. 

— The Pennsylvania troops arrived in Baltimore a few 
minutes after the Massachusetts men, and remained at the 



OFTHEWAR. 19 

Pliiladelpnia depot to await tlie issue of the attempt to pass. 
The mob fell back, after the tragedy in Pratt street, upon the 
Pennsylvanians, who were entirely unarmed. They gathered 
in the depot, and soon orders came fi-om the city authorities 
and the Governor for the railway company to return the troops 
to the State line — an order soon obeyed. 

— In view of the state of feeling at Baltimore, the Mayor 
and Governor united in a commission to the President to re- 
present that no more troops could pass through their city un- 
less they fought their way. The President decided to spare 
the effusion of blood by ordering the regiments to march 
around the city. The route by way of Perryville and Annap- 
olis was soon opened by General Butler, with the Massachu- 
setts Eighth, assisted by the New York Seventh. 

— The entire North was fearfully excited by the news of the 
attack on the Massachusetts men. It only served to intensify 
the antagonisms existing. It was so potent in exciting the 
public that every recruiting rendezvous in the North was 
literally overrun with applicants for positions in the ranks. It 
is estimated that more men offered in Pennsylvania than 
would fill the entire requisition of April 15th. 

— Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts, sent the following 
dispatch to Mayor Brown : " I pray you, cause the bodies of 
our Massachusetts soldiers, dead in battle, to be immediately 
laid out, preserved in ice, and tenderly sent forward by ex- 
press to me. All expenses will be paid by this Common- 
wealth." This was complied with, and the Mayor wrote 
apologetically for that sad occurrenca 

— The City Council of Philadelph'a, at a special meeting, 
appropriated $1,000,000 to equip the volunteers and support 
their families diuing their absence from home. Fourteen 
thousand dollars were subscribed for the same purpose at 
Norwich, Conn. 

—The Seventh regiment, N. Y. S. M., left for "Washington at 
noon, amid the wildest enthusiasm. An innumerable throng 
cheered them on their way. News of the assault in Baltimore 
was received before they left, when forty-eight rounds of ball- 
cartridge were served out 



20 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

— The Rhode Island Marine artillery followed the Seventh. 
This superb battery reflected great credit on the State and its 
Governor. It was composed of 130 men, 110 horses, eight 
splendid field-pieces and all requisite accessories. The com- 
mander. Colonel Tomkins, was eager to open the route through 
Baltimore. 

— The Massachusetts Eighth followed the Rhode Islanders. 
It was accompanied by Brigadier-General B. R Butler, in 
general command of the Massachusetts forces. 

— Anticipating the descent of the forces now gathered at 
Philadelphia, the Baltimore mob proceeded to Canton station, 
on the Philadelphia railway, and, stopping the evening train, 
compelled the passengers all to leave it. The engineer was 
then made to run the mob up to the Gunpowder bridge — a 
fine structure over Gunpowder Creek. The draw and shore 
sections of the bridge were burned. The train then returned 
to Bush River bridge, which was also burned. Then the Can- 
ton bridge was fired and consumed. After the work of de- 
struction the mob returned to Baltimore, on the train, and were 
received with acclamations. 

■ — Stupendous mass meeting of the people of New York 
City, called by citizens of all parties and religious denomina- 
tions, to express sympathy with the Government. The entire 
demonstration was harmonious and satisfactory, and resulted 
in great good to the common cause. It is estimated that one 
hundred thousand people, directly or indirectly, participated in 
the proceedings. The " Union Defense Committee" — composed 
of twenty-six of the most wealthy and prominent men of the 
city [the number afterwards was increased to thu'ty-two,] grew 
out of the great gathering. Its business was to collect and 
disburse fands for arming, equipping, and placing in the field 
the New York City regiments — to care for the families of the 
volunteers — to co-operate with Government in whatever would 
tend to strengthen the National cause. It was one of the most 
beneficent and effective organizations of the war. Besides the 
large private subscriptions placed at its disposal, the City Gov- 
ernment voted one million of dollars, to be expended under 
the Committee's du-ection. 



OF THE "WAR. 21 

— The Gosport (Norfolk) Navy -yard destroyed during the 
night of April 19-20. Government property to the amount 
of over eleven millions of dollars was committed to the flames 
and the water, " to keep it," as the officer in charge, Commander 
McAuley said, " from falling into the hands of the revolu- 
tionists" — then in considerable force at Norfolk, under com- 
mand of General Taliaferro. Commodore Paulding sailed in, 
on the Pawnee^ at eight P. M., (April 19th,) to find the Merrimac 
steam frigate disabled, the Oermantown^ liaritan, Pennsylvania, 
Plymouth, and other vessels either scuttled or given up to the 
flames. The Oumberland frigate alone, of all that fine fleet, 
was saved by the accidental presence of the Yankee, steam-tug, 
owned by William B. Astor, of New York, and sent out by 
him "to be of some service to Government somewhere." The 
buildings, timber, two thousand pieces of ordnance (of all sizes, 
from the heavy Columbiad and Dahlgren to the boat howitzer,) 
small-arms, stocks, shears, machinery — all were offered up, a 
holocaust to rebellion and James Buchanan's want of foresight 
and courage. Neither is the administration of Mr. Lincoln 
blameless, for it should have taken all the movable property 
away, under the guns of the very frigates which were commit- 
ted to the flames and waves. Viewed in every aspect, it was 
a most wretched affair. 

— At a second great Union meeting in Chicago, during the 
proceedings, at the suggestion of Judge Manniere, the entire 
audience raised their right hands and took the oath of alle- 
giance to the United States Government — repeating the oath 
after the Judge. 

— Orders were issued by the officers of the "Western Union, 
and the New York, Albany and Buffalo Telegraphic Compa- 
nies, that no messages be received ordering arms or munitions 
of war, unless for the use of the General Government 

April 20th. Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, convenes 
the Legislature of his State for the 30th of April, " to take into 
consideration and to adopt such measures as the present emer- 
gencies may demand" 

— A letter was received at Philadelphia from Governor 



22 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Letcher, of Yirginia, offering $30,000 to the patentee of the 
bullet-mould. The replj was, " No money can purchase it 
against the country." 

— The Council of Wilmington, Del., appropriated $8,000 
to defend the city, and passed resolutions approving of the 
President's proclamation. Also, asking the Governor to issue 
a proclamation for the same pui'pose. The Brandywine bridges 
and all on the road between Susquehanna and Philadelphia arc 
guarded, and workmen have been sent to repair the bridges 
destroyed on the Northern Central road. 

— The Missourians seized the United States arsenal, at 
Liberty, Mo., and garrisoned it with 100 men. In the arsenal 
were 1,300 stand of arms, ten or twelve pieces of cannon, and 
quite an amount of powder. 

— Two thousand stand of arms were furnished the citizens 
of Leavenworth, from the arsenal at Fort Leavenworth, and the 
commander ot that post accepted the services of 300 volun- 
teers, to guard the arsenal, pending the arrival of troops from 
Fort Kearney. 

— The Federal Government takes possession of the railway 
between Philadelphia and Baltimore. 

— General Scott telegraphed to John J. Crittenden, of Ken- 
tucky, who had questioned him by telegraph as to the truth of 
the report that he had resolved to desert the Federal caiise : 
" I have not changed ; have no thought of change ; always a 
Union man." 

April 21st. The Mayor of Baltimore had an interview with 
the President, to try and persuade him not to order any more 
troops through Maryland. 

— Arrival in New York of the Third battalion of Massachu- 
setts rifles, Major Devens commanding. 

— An immense mass meeting in Boston (it being Sunday) 
was held preparatory to raising a choice regiment for Fletcher 
Webster (son of Daniel Webster). It became a popular ova- 
tion befoi-e its close. A large number of the leading citizens 
addressed the crowd throughout the day. 

— The First Ehode Island regiment passed through New 



OF THE WAR. 23 

York, en route for Washington, \>j wsij of Annapolis. It sailed 
from New York this (Sunday) evening, in company with the 
New York Sixth, Twelfth, and Seventy -first regiments of militia. 
The crowd was dense in the streets, during the entire day, to 
witness the embarkation of the regiments on the transports. 
The incidents of this day in New York we advert to in a suc- 
ceeding chapter. 

— The North Carolinians seized the United States Branch 
Mint, at Charlotte, in that State. 

— Great gatherings in all the churches throughout the North, 
to hear " Sermons on the Crisis." Some most remarkable de- 
monstrations were witnessed. In Henry Ward Beecher's 
church, at Brooklyn, a communication was read from the Thir- 
teenth, regiment of New York militia, asking for help in uni- 
forming and equipping them for service. Over $1,100 were 
forthwith contributed. In the city of New York patriotism 
was the theme of discourse. In the Broadway Tabernacle, the 
pastor, Rev. J. P. Thompson, D. D., preached a sermon in the 
evening on " God's Time of Threshing." The choir performed 
" The Marseillaise" to a hymn composed for the occasion by the 
pastor. A collection was taken for the Volunteers' Home 
Fund, amounting to $450 — to which a member of the congre- 
gation afterwards added $100. Dr. Bethune's sermon was 
from the text : " In the name of our God we will set up our 
banners." In Dr. Bellows' church, the choir sang " The Star 
Spangled Banner," which was vigorously applauded by the 
whole house. At Grace Church, (Episcopal,) Dr. Taylor began 
by saying, " The Star Spangled Banner has been insulted." 
The gallant Major Anderson and his wife attended service at 
Trinity. At Dr. McLane's Presbyterian Church, Williams- 
burg, " The Star Spangled Banner" was sung. Dr. T. D. 
Wells (Old School Presbyterian) preached from the words : 
" He that hath no sword, let him buy one." Dr. Osgood's text 
was : " Lift up a standard to the people." The religious world 
certainly never before witnessed such an invasion of the pul- 
pit Great numbers of churches were organizing companies, 



24: INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

and one pastor, Eev. Dr. Perry, of Brooklyn, assumed com- 
mand of a regiment 

— The American flag was publicly buried at IMempliis, 
Tenn., on tliis day, amid a great concourse of citizens. The 
funeral rites were read, and a volley fired over the grave. 

April 22d. Great pressure brought to bear on the President 
to procure some countermand of the order for troops to march 
to Washington. One delegation of thirty, from five " Young 
Men's Christian Associations" of Baltimore, had a prolonged 
interview, but made no impression upon him. Governor 
Hicks approached him with a communication, again urging 
the withdrawal of troops from Maryland, a cessation of hostil- 
ities, and a reference of the National dispute to the arbitrament 
of Lord Lyons. To this the Secretary of State replied, that 
the troops were only called out to suppress insurrection, and 
must come through Baltimore, as that was the route chosen 
for them by the Commander-in-Chief, and that our troubles 
could not be " referred to any foreign arbitrament." 

— Colonel Eobert E. Lee, late of the U. S. Army, is named 
by the Governor of Virginia Commander-in-Chief of the forces 
of that State. 

— The U. S. arsenal at Fayetteville, N. C, is seized by the 
orders of Governor Ellis. The Governor, at the same date, 
called out 30,000 troops, in addition to the organized militia, 
to be in readiness at a moment's notice. 

— The N. Y. city Common Council appropriated one million 
of dollars for equipping and caring for the comfort of vol- 
unteers. 

— The N. Y. Twenty-fifth militia regiment arrived in the 
city from Albany, en route for Washington. 

— The IST. Y. Seventh and Massachusetts Eighth regiments 
arrive, by transports from Philadelphia, at Annapolis, where 
they land and seize the railway to Washington. The troops 
of the Eighth seized the frigate Constitution — " Old Lonsides," 
which was in danger of capture by the Secessionists. General 
Butler, in liis order congratulating the men on the safety of 



OFTHEWAR. 25 

tlie old frigate, said : " The frigaie Constitution lias lain for a 
long time at this port substantially at the mercy of the armed 
mob which sometimes paralyzes the otherwise loyal State of 
Maryland. Deeds of daring, successful contests, and glorious 
victories, had rendered Old Ironsides so conspicuous in the 
naval history of the country, that she was fitly chosen as the 
school in which to train the future officers of the navy to like 
heroic acts. It was given to Massachusetts and Essex county 
first to man her ; it was reserved to Massachusetts to have the 
honor to retain her for the service of the Union and the laws." 
— The Secretary of War conveys to Major Anderson the ap- 
proval of the Executive of his conduct in the defense of Fort 
Sumter, viz. : 

" War Department, Washington, ) 
April 23d, 1861. f 

'■^ Major Robert Anderson^ late Commanding Officer at Fort 
Sumter : 

" My Dear Sir : I am directed by the President of the 
United States, to communicate to you, and through you to the 
officers and men iinder your command at Forts Moultrie and 
Sumter, the approbation of the Government of your and their 
judicious and gallant conduct there ; and to tender to you and 
them the thanks of the Government for the same. 
" I am, very respectfully, 

"SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War." 

— Father Rafina, priest of the Montrose Avenue Catholic 
Church, Williamsburg, N. Y., with his own hands raised the 
American flag upon the top of his church. The ceremony was 
witnessed by at least two thousand people, who greeted the 
glorious emblem with cheer after cheer, as it waved majestic- 
ally over the sacred edifice. The reverend father addressed 
the assemblage in a few appropriate remarks, which were re- 
ceived with marked enthusiasm. 

— The Charleston Mercury flings defiance at the North — call- 
ing Lincoln a usurper, and saying: " he will deplore the 
'higher-law' depravity which has governed his counsels. Seek- 
ing the sword, in spite of all moral or constitutional restraints 
c 4 



26 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

and obligations, lie may perisTi by the sword. He sleeps al- 
ready witb soldiers at liis gate, and the grand reception-room 
of the Wliite House is converted into quarters for troops from 
Kansas — border ruffians of Abolitionism." 

— A fine Union meeting was held in Lexington, Kentucky. 
The Stars and Stripes were raised ; the people generally ex- 
pressed their determination to adhere to them to the last. 
Speeches were made by Messrs. Field, Crittenden, Codey, and 
others. The most unbounded enthusiasm prevailed, and the 
speakers were greeted with great applause. 

April 23d. The feeling in the South at this date may be 
inferred from the call of the Governor of Louisiana for troops. 
He said: "The Government at Washington, maddened by 
defeat and the successful maintenance by our patriotic people 
of their rights and liberties against its mercenaries in the har- 
bor of Charleston, and the determination of the Southern 
people forever to sever themselves from the Northern Govern- 
ment, has now thrown off the mask, and, sustained by the 
people of the non-slaveholding States, is actively engaged in 
levying war, by land and sea, to subvert your liberties, destroy 
your rights, and to shed your blood on your own soil. If you 
have the manhood to resist, rise, then, pride of Louisiana, in 
your might, in defense of your dearest rights, and drive back 
this insolent, barbaric force. Like your brave ancestry, resolve 
to conquer or perish in the effort ; and the flag of usurpation 
will never fly over Southern soil. Rally, then, to the proclama- 
tion which I now make on the requisition of the Confederate 
Government" The enthusiasm in the South was represented 
as equal to that prevailing in the North. The contest was re- 
garded as a war of sections, and the South seemed to entertain 
no other idea but that of the complete defeat of the North. 
The idea generally prevailed that a Southern soldier was equal 
to five Northern "hirelings." The terms used to characterize 
the Northern soldiers were very offensive, and the idea seemed 
to prevail that the army of Federal volunteers was composed 
of the very lowest scum of society. As Northern papers could 



OF THE WAR. 27 

not circulate in the Soutli, the people really never knew better, 
until they learned at the bayonet's point. 

— The "Western Pennsylvania regiments pass through Phila- 
delphia, en route for Washington, by way of Annapolis. 

— The Eighth, Sixty-ninth, and Thirteenth regiments of New 
York militia start for Washington. 

— Sherman's celebrated battery, consisting of ninety men 
and eight howitzers, passed through Philadelphia, Pa., on the 
route to Washington. The train containing the troops stopped 
in Market street, between Fifteenth and Sixteenth. Imme- 
diately the ladies of Benton street rushed out, and vied with 
each other in their attention to the weary soldiers. Bread, 
meat, pies, and cakes, were brought forward in goodly supplies, 
hundreds of girls running with hot dinners just from the 
ranges ; bakere with baskets of bread and cakes ; fruiterers 
with baskets of apples, oranges, etc., were quickly upon the 
ground. The men said that they were thu'sty, and in a trice 
there were a dozen pretty girls handing up cups of water. 
After the battery had been thus refreshed, a collection was 
taken up, and the soldiers were supplied with enough cigars 
and tobacco to last for some days. Thd^ military cheered con- 
tinually for the ladies of Philadelphia, and, as the train moved 
off, they gave nine hearty cheers for Philadelphia, the Union, 
the Constitution, and the success of the Federal arms in the 
South. 

April 24th. The New York Twenty-fifth regiment of militia 
sailed for Washington. 

— An immense Union meeting was held in Detroit, over 
which General Cass presided. His speech was brief, but 
strongly loyaL He called upon all citizens to stand by the 
Administration. 

— The Faculty and students of the Brown High School, at 
Newburyport, Mass., raised the American flag near their school 
building, in presence of a large concourse of citizens. Patriotic 
speeches were made by Caleb Cushing, and others. 

April 25th. General Harney, on his way to Washington, 
was aiTested by the Vii-ginia authorities, at Harper's Ferrv- He 



28 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES I 

left Wheeling, Yirginia, for tlie purpose of reporting himself at 
head-quarters at AVashington. Before the train reached Har- ] 
per's Ferry it was stopped, and a number of troops mounted ^ i 
the platforms; while the train was moving slowly on, the 
troops passed through the cars, and the General being pointed 
out, he was immediately taken into custody. 

— A deputation of twenty Indians, headed by White Cloud, 
in behalf of the Sioux and Chippewas, arrived in New York 
They tender to the United States, in behalf of themselves and 
three hundred other warriors, their services against rebellion. 
Having heard that the Cherokees had sided with the rebels, 
they covild not remain neutral, and, with a promptness worthy 
of imitation in high quarters, have come to offer their Services 
in defense of the Government They ask to be armed and led. 

— A second detachment of Rhode Islanders arrived in New 
York, bound for Washington. The New York Herald said : 
"As a proof of the patriotic spuit which animates the citi- 
zens of Rhode Island, it may be mentioned that a man named 
William Dean, who lost one arm in the Mexican war, is now 
a volunteer in tliis corps, being willing to lose another limb in 
defense of the honor of his country. The noble fellow carries 
his musket slung behind his back, but it is said when the hour 
comes for bloodier action he can use it with as good effect and 
expertness as if in possession of his natui'al appendages. The 
regiment also carries a flag which was borne through all the 
terrors of the Revolution. The uniform of the regiment is 
light and comfortable ; it consists of a blue flannel blouse, gray 
pants, and the army regulation hat The volunteers bring 
along with them two very prepossessing young women, named 
Martha Francis and Katey Brownell, both of Providence, who 
propose to act as ' daughters of the regiment,' after the French 
plan." 

• — The N. Y. Seventh arrived at Washington to-day, and 
were welcomed with great demonstrations of joy. They were 
the first regiment to reach the Capital after the Massachusetts 
Sixth. The Massachusetts Eigh th almost immediately followed 
the Seventh into the city. With these troops Washington 



OF THE -WAR. 29 

was pronounced safe. From this date troops constantly poured 
into the Capital, by the Annapolis route. The route by 
Baltimore and the Northern Central railroad was not opened 
until May 13tL 

— Virginia transferred to the Southern Confederacy, by 
treaty between the State Convention and Mr. Stephens, Vice- 
President of the Confederate States. By this transaction the 
people were literally " sold out of house and home." 

April 26th. A correspondent of a Boston journal, writing 
from the "West, over which he was travelling, said of the feel- 
ing prevailing in that section : " The enthusiasm of the people 
at the "West, in rallying for the defense of the Union, far ex- 
ceeds the expectations of the most sanguina Throughout the 
entire North-west there is a perfect unanimity of sentiment. 
Ten days ago, men who now cry, down with the rebels, were 
apologizing for the South — justifying its action, and wishing 
it success. Every town in Illinois is mustering soldiers, and 
many of the towns of five or six thousand inhabitants, have 
two and three companies ready for action. Companies are 
also formed for drill, so that, in case of need, they will be pre- 
pared to march at any moment. Money is poured out freely 
as water, and ladies unite in making shirts, blankets, and even 
coats and pants for the soldiers. Arrangements have been 
made to take care of the families of the soldiers during their 
absence. All say, none shall fight the battles of their country 
at their own expense." 

— The bridges over Gunpowder River, on the Philadelphia, 
Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad, were burned by the 
rebels of Baltimore. The bridge over Bush River, on the 
same route, had been destroyed the evening previous. The 
mob still reigned in Baltimore, although the loyal press of 
the city represented that the " conservative" sentiment was 
gi'owing. 

— The Seventh regiment of New York took the oath to sup 
port the Constitution of the United States, at the War Depart- 
ment, in Washington, to-day. Not a man hesitated. The 
scene was most impressive. 



30 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

— Many Southern men, still in tlie employ of the Depart- 
ments, at Washington, refused to take tlie oath of allegiance. 
They all " resigned" and took their way South to give their 
services to the Slave States. 

April 27th. Great numbers of "Virginians whose loyalty to 
the Constitution forbade them to sustain the high-handed 
tyranny of the State Convention, are passing North to escape 
persecution. The outrages perpetrated on the Unionists of 
that State are daily becoming more atrocious. The State is in 
possession of the Confederate forces, and the Secession cut- 
throats have it all their own way. The mob everywhere ap- 
propriate to their own use whatever they may fancy ; farmers 
are stopped on the road, their horses taken from them under 
the plea that they are for the defense of the South ; gi-anaries 
are searched, and everything convertible for food for either 
man or beast, carried off. This has been practiced to such an 
extent that, along the northern border of Virginia, a reaction 
is taking place, and instructions are being sent from "Western 
Maryland, to the Delegates at Annapolis, that if they vote for 
secession the people will hang them on their return home. The 
news of the unanimous sentiment of the North, the prompt 
and decisive action on the part of the State Governments in 
enlisting men, h|ts strengthened the Union men of "Western 
Maryland and the border counties of Virginia. 

— The " New York Ladies' Eelief Union" — one of the or- 
ganizations devised for centralizing the efforts of women in be- 
half of the Union cause — issue, to-day, their circular, setting 
forth the " importance of systematizing the earnest efforts now 
making by the women of New York for the supply of extra 
medical aid to the Federal army, through the present cam- 
paign." 

— Mr. Lincoln issues his supplementary proclamation, includ- 
ing the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina in the order of 
blockade. 

April 28th. The Daylight, the first steamer direct from New 
York, via Potomac, reached "Washington at ten A. M. Many 
lights were out on the Virginia coast, and many buoys had 



OF THE WAR. 31 

been destroyed by tbe rebels. Tlie Daylight came without 
convoy. She had no gims, except one howitzer, which Cap- 
tain Viele obtained from the Pocahontas^ at the month of the 
Potomac. Captain Yiele and the one hundred and seventy- 
two recruits for the New York Seventh regiment, have the 
honor of the first passage up the Potomac. 

— The New York Fifth regiment of mihtia leaves to-day for 
Annapolis, in the British steam transport Kedar. This regi- 
ment, commanded by Colonel Schwartzwaelder, is composed 
almost entirely of Germans. 

April 29th. B. F. Hallett, of Boston, a leading man in the 
opposition party of Massachusetts, comes out strongly for the 
war, at a meeting of the Suffolk bar. 

— Great excitement in Tennessee, consequent on the seizure 
(April 26th) at Cairo, by the Federal forces, of the steamer 
Hillman, laden with munitions of war. Governor Harris or- 
ders $75,000 in Tennessee bonds, and $5,000 in coin — all in 
possession of the United States Collector at Nashville, to be 
seized as a reprisal. 

— Grand military review in New Orleans, of troops prepared 
to march North. Thirty thousand people turned out to wit- 
ness the pageant. 

— Ellsworth's Fire Zouaves left New York for Annapolis. 
A grand demonstration was made by the New York city fire 
department in honor of their departure. One hundred thou- 
sand people were gathered in the route of their march to wit- 
ness the proceedings. 

April 30th. Persons from the South, residing in "Washing- 
ton, are warned to leave that city before its destruction hf the 
Southern army, 

— The School-teachers of the Boston, Mass., schools, relin- 
quished a large portion of their salaries, to be applied, during 
the war, to patriotic purposes. 

— The New York Yacht Club offer the Government the use 
of all their craft for any service for which they may be fitted. 

— Governor Dennison, of Ohio, reports that, up to this 
date, 71,000 volunteers had offered to meet the President's 



82 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

requisition for thirteen regiments. All regiments furnished 
by the State, are picked men. The same may be said of the 
offers made in other States. It is now known that an army of 
three hundred thousand men could be made up of volunteers 
from New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio alone. 

Every church and public building in New York, Phila- 
delphia and Boston, is siirmounted by the American flag. 
Public buildings generally throughout the North are thus 
decorated. The demand for bunting is so great, that the sup- 
ply is exhausted, and flags are being made out of all lands of 
materials of the proper color. 

— The Twenty-eighth regiment of New York militia leaves 
Brooklyn for the seat of war. It is composed of the best class 
of German citizens — many men of wealth being in the ranks. 
It is commanded by Colonel Burnett. The streets were 
thronged to witness its departure. 

— The Harvard University Medical School adopt a resolu- 
tion, viz. : " That we, the members of the Harvard Medical 
School, do here and now resolve ourselves into a volunteer 
medical corps, and as such do hereby tender our services to 
the Governor of this Commonwealth, to act in behalf of this 
State or country, in whatever capacity we may be needed. 

— -"The contributions of cities, individuals. Legislatures, banks, 
etc., up to this date, to the patriotic fund, are estimated to ex- 
ceed twenty-eight millions of dollars. Government finds its 
soldiers literally made to order — taking the field armed and 
equipped, through the patronage and care of the localities from 
which the companies and regiments came. 

This will end our Diary of Events, occurring in the brief 
space of fifteen days. What a record ! The world never read 
its like. It will be read by our descendants with astonishment. 
Let us preserve the memory of these days to inspire our ardor, 
to strengthen our faith, to deepen our love for the Union, the 
Constitution and the Laws ! 



II. 

THE NEW NATION". 

Men awakened on tlie morning of April 14tli to enter upon 
the New Era of the Republic. The hour of trial had come. 
The people of the North were to say if the Union should sur- 
vive or perish — if the " Great Democratic Experiment" should 
ignominiously fail, or should assert its true nobility by show- 
ing a consolidated front to revolution and disorganization. 
The guns which opened upon Sumter were aimed at the Na- 
tional heart, which the fortress typified in its silent grandeur 
as it lay away off in the waters, not to be awakened until as- 
sailed. Would the Nation protect its heart ? It needed only 
such an assault to send the blood bounding through every 
loyal bosom ; and the cry " TO AEMS !" which flew over the 
land, answered for the people. Rent into factions, divided in 
sentiment, antagonistic in personal interests, absorbed in 
schemes of gain, they had seemingly lived at open variance. 
As " Republicans," " Democrats," " Unionists," " Conserva- 
tives," "Abolitionists," "Pro-Slavery" and " Anti-Slavjsry" 
Extensionists, they had harbored bitter differences ; but, these 
all melted away in that night when Major Anderson slept in 
his battered fortress, defeated in the defense of his assailed 
flag ; and the people awoke on the morning of Sumter's evac- 
uation to a new life — the New Nation was born. All partisan 
differences, all local antipathies, all personal dislikes, were 
buried, and over their gi'ave arose the resurrected patriotism 
which had too long slumbered. Sumter lost but Freedom 
won when the madmen put the Union on its trial. 

"We cannot better convey an idea of the astonishing change 



34 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

tliat came over the people than to recur to the utterances of 
the press chronichng the events of those hoiirs, so potent with 
great results to the country. 

The New York Herald, up to the hour of Sumter's bom- 
bardment, was inimical to the Administration, and strongly in 
favor of concessions to the South. After that event, its right 
hand of fellowship was withdrawn, and, with the common sen- 
timent of the North, it declared for a vigorous policy against 
the revolutionists, saying : " Whatever opinions may have 
prevailed, and whatever views of expediency may have been 
advocated, hitherto, there is clearly no other course for Gov- 
ernment to pursue now, than to ' retake the places and prop- 
erties' that have been seized and occupied, in the Southern 
States. Upon this point, the people of the Northern and 
Western States will be nearly a unit As a consequence, past 
organizations and platforms are virtually swept away, and 
none of the issues remain of present importance which recently 
agitated the public mind. * * The time for undue excite- 
ment has passed. The passing events of each hour are so so- 
lemn, that every pulse should beat equably, and every aspi- 
ration be for a speedy restoration of the Eepublic to peace, 
and its pristine unity and greatness. The utmost unanimity 
of feeling should prevail in sustaining the only policy which is 
any longer practicable ; and every nerve should be strained 
to aid the Government in rendering its measures as efficient 
as possible." 

Xlie Boston Post, the organ of the Breckenridge Democracy, 
sent forth this clarion call : " The uprising is tremendous ; and 
well would it be for each good citizen. South and North, to 
feel this invasion of the public order at Fort Sumter as his 
own personal concern. In reality it is so. There is left no 
choice but between a support of the Government and anarchy 1 
The rising shows that this is the feeling. The Proclamation 
calls for seventy-five thousand men ; and from one State alone, 
Pennsylvania, a hundred thousand are at the President's com- 
mand at forty-eight hours' notice ! Nor is this all. Capital- 
ists stand ready to tender millions upon millions of money to 



OF THE WAR. 85 

sustain the grand Government of the Fathers. Thus the civ- 
ilized world will see the mighty energy of a free people, sup- 
plying in full measure the sinews of war, men and money, out 
of loyalty to the supremacy of law. Patriotic citizen ! choose 
you which you will serve, the world's best hope, our noble 
Republican Government, or that bottomless pit, social anarchy. 
Adjourn other issues vmtil this self-preserving issue is settled." 

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Opposition) spoke as well. It 
said : " ' Take your places in line.' The American flag trails 
in the dust There is from this hour no longer any middle 
or neutral ground to occupy. All party lines cease. Demo- 
crats, Whigs, Americans, Republicans and Union men, all 
merge into one or two parties — patriots or traitors. For our- 
selves, we are not prepared for either or any form of govern- 
ment which the imagination might suggest as possible or 
probable to follow in the wake of a republic. We are for the 
Government as handed down to us by our fathers. It was 
consecrated in blood, and given to us as a sacred legacy. It 
is ours to live by, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be ours 
to die by. We will have it and none other. We have no 
political feuds or animosities to avenge ; we know no cause 
save to wipe an insult from our flag, and to defend and main- 
tain an assailed Government and a violated Constitution. We 
care not who is President, or what political party is in power ; 
so long as they support the honor and the flag of our country, 
we are with them ; those who are not, are against us — against 
our flag — and against our Government ' Take your places 
in line !' " 

The New York Times correctly stated the facts and hopes 
of the hour in its issue of April 16th. It said : " The inci- 
dents of the last two days will live in historj'-. Not for fifty 
years has such a spectacle been seen, as that glorious uprising 
of American loyalty which greeted the news that open war 
had been commenced upon the Constitution and Government 
of the United States. The great heart of the American peo- 
ple beat with one high pulsation of courage, and of fervid love 
and devotion to the great Republic. Party dissensions were 



36 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

instantly hnsliecl ; political differences disappeared, and were 
as thoroughly forgotten as if they had never existed ; party 
bonds flashed into nothingness in the glowing flame of patriot- 
ism ; men ceased to think of themselves or their parties— they 
thought only of their country and of the dangers which men- 
aced its existence. Nothing for years has brought the hearts 
of all the people so close together, or so inspired them all with 
common hopes, and common fears, and a common aim, as the 
bombardment and surrender of an American fortress. 

" We look upon this sublime outburst of public sentiment 
as the most perfect vindication of popular institutions — the 
most conclusive rej^ly to the impugners of American loyalty, 
the country has ever seen. It has been quite common to say 
that such a Republic as ours could never be permanent, be- 
cause it lacked the conditions of a profound and abiding loy- 
alty. The Government could never inspire a patriotic instinct, 
fervid enough to melt the bonds of party, or powerful enough 
to override the selfishness which free institutions so rapidly 
develop. The hearts of our own people had begun to sink 
within them, at the apparent insensibility of the public, to the 
dangers which menaced the Government. The public mind 
seemed to have been demoralized — the public heart seemed 
insensible to perils which threatened utter extinction to our 
great Republic. The secession movement, infinitely the most 
formidable danger which has ever menaced our Government, 
was regarded with indifference, and treated as merely a novel 
form of our usual political contentions. The best among us 
began to despair of a country which seemed incompetent to 
understand its dangers, and indifferent to its own destruction. 

" But all this is changed. The cannon which bombarded 
Sumter awoke strange echoes, and touched forgotten chords in 
the American heart. American Loyalty leaped into instant 
life, and stood radiant and ready for the fierce encounter. 
From one end of the land to the other — in the crowded streets 
of cities, and in the solitude of the country — wherever the 
splendor of the Stars and Stripes, the glittering emblems of 
our country's glory, meets the eye, come forth shouts of devo- 



OFTHEWAR. 37 

tion and pledges of aid, wliicli give sure guarantees for the 
perpetuity of American Freedom. War can inflict no scars on 
such a people. It can do tliem no damage which time cannot 
repair. It cannot shake the solid foundations of their material 
prosperity — while it will strengthen the manly and heroic vir- 
tues, which defy its fierce and frowning front 

" It is a mistake to suppose that war — even Civil War — is 
the greatest evil that can afflict a nation. The proudest and 
noblest nations on the earth have the oftenest felt its fury, and 
have risen the stronger, because the braver, from its over- 
whelming wrath, AVar is a far less evil than degi*adation — 
than the national and social paralysis which can neither feel a 
wound nor redress a wrong. When War becomes the only 
means of sustaining a nation's honor, and of vindicating its 
just and rightful supremacy, it ceases to be an evil, and be- 
comes the source of actual and positive good. If we are 
doomed to assert the rightful supremacy of our Constitution 
by force of arms, against those who would overthrow and de- 
stroy it, we shall grow the stronger and the nobler by the very 
contest we are compelled to wage. 

" We have reason to exult in the noble demonstration of 
American loyalty, which the events of the last few days have 
called forth from every quarter of the country. Millions of 
freemen rally with exulting hearts, around our country's stand- 
ard The great body of our people have but one heart and 
one purpose in this gi*eat crisis of our history. Whatever may 
be the character of the contest, we have no fears or misgivings 
as to the final issue." 

Particularly referring to the unanimity of the political lead- 
ers in support of the Administration, the New York Courier 
and Inquirer of May 2d, said : " We have all witnessed the 
sudden transformation of the scene-painter's art — a whistle, a 
creak of a wheel, and in place of a cottage, a palace ! — a sigh- 
ing maiden is followed by an exultant conqueror ; and seeing 
these delusions of the canvas, we have accustomed ourselves 
to look upon it as a trick of the drama, and never in our ex- 
perience to be paralleled by the actual We are to see all 
D 



38 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Strange tilings in the nineteenth century, and of the very 
strangest is the sudden change of a Northern people from a 
race of quiet, patient, much- en during, calm, ' consistent mem- 
bers of the Peace Society,' willing to compromise to the last 
possible interpolation of the Constitution, to a gathering of 
armed men, backing up courage by cash, and coming together 
with a union of the purse and the sword, which is to be one 
of the most remarkable chapters that history ever wrote. 

" The Macaulay of American annals will record that in one 
brief, earnest, intense ten of days, the chain of party melted ; 
the organization of party shivered ; the leaders of opposing 
opinions were as brethren; — Seward, Douglas, Dix, even Caleb 
Clashing, wrote a full acquittance of past pohtical strife, and 
declared that the life of their political doctrine was the preser- 
vation of the country's honor. Who shall ever despair of a 
nation after this ? If from our quarrels, our pale compromises, 
our bondage to the exchange and to the warehouse, from all 
the indolence of prosperity, such a transformation to the camp 
of a brave and imited soldiery, a close and compact counsel — 
the purse inverted over the soldier's needs — the struggle who 
shall quickest forget his party watch-word, and learn that of 
the line of battle — ^if this new life has thus sprung, the philos- 
opher of history must learn of us new ideas of the power of a 
free people. 

" The Revolution of 1776 witnessed no such union. More 
families left New York and her sister colonies, because they 
would not show steel to King George, (and that when New 
York had population only of thousands where it now has hun- 
dreds of thousands,) than have now suggested doubts of our 
right from all the vast numbers of the Northern States. We 
cannot even yet realize the change these ten days have 
wrought. We are like those who bring all their valuables to 
the fire of the furnace, and recast the compound. That pro- 
cess is now in our midst. Does any man suppose we are to 
be fused in just such party shape again? Differ we shall — 
but the gold has been tried, and the great fact established, that 
those dwelhng in the Northern States have that devotion to 



OFTHEWAE. 89 

the country at whose call the mother gives her son to the 
battle, the capitalist his treasure to the cause, and men blend 
as a Nation. Were we ever a Nation before ? 

" All lineages — the Mayflower man ^s in the front rank only 
to be met in line by those who look back to Delft Haven, I 
have found the warmest thought and act in those who but a 
month since were doubtful of the patriotism of those of us who 
could not see the merit of ' compromise.' The voice of Ed- 
ward Everett rings out its call to arms — the men who have 
risked to offend the North by their ultra Southern views, have 
thrown all aside as the call for Union for the country's honor 
reached them." 

Thus it was that the New Nation sprang into existence, to 
redeem the past and plant anew the tree of Liberty and Union, 
which the conspirators had so nearly torn up and shattered. 



III. 

THE MUSTERING. 

"Who shall tell the story of the gathering of those who flew 
to arms at the call ? Every company of those first forward 
has its chapter of incidents honorable to its patriotic devotion 
and creditable to its intelligence. Every regiment has its re- 
cord of patriotism and self-sacrifice, for in its ranks stood those 
whom no mercenary motive had impelled to arms. Doctors, 
lawyers, merchants, students, mechanics, were there — all de- 
serting business and home to encounter the toils, privations, 
sufferings, and dangers of military service. The Massachusetts, 
New York, and Ehode Island militia regiments which were 
first ready, and, in a few days, were on the way to Washington, 
were composed almost entirely of citizens of the most respect- 



40 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

able cliaracter — men, whose intelligence and social standing 
rendered them eminently fit to become the guardians of the 
Capital and pioneers of the immense host to follow. How 
their souls must have scorned the foe who called them 
"menials," "mercenaries," "hirelings," "Hessians!"* The 
press of the South almost generally resorted to such epithets, 
and sedulously sought to disseminate the idea that the Northern 
volunteers were drawn from the lowest classes. Thus the 
Mobile Advertiser characterized them, and welcomed them to 
Southern graves : 

" These volunteers are men who prefer enlisting to starvation ; 
scurvy fellows from the back slums of cities, whom Falstaff would not 
have marched through Coventry with ; but these recruits are not sol- 
diers — least of all the soldiers to meet the hot-blooded, thorough bred, 
impetuous men of the South. Trencher soldiers, who enlisted to war 
upon their rations, not on men ; they are such as marched through 
Baltimore — squalid, wretched, ragged, and half-naked — as the news- 
papers of that city report them. Fellows who do not know the Dreech 
of a musket from its muzzle, and had rather filch a handkerchief than 
fight an enemy in manly combat. White-slaves, peddling wretches, 
small-change knaves, and vagrants, the dregs and oftscourings of the 
populace ; these are the levied ' forces' whom Lincoln suddenly arrays 
as candidates for the honor of being slaughtered by gentlemen — such as 
Mobile sent to battle. Let them come South, and we will put our ne- 
groes to the dirty work of killing them. But they will not come South. 
Not a wretch of them will live on this side of the border, longer than 
it will take us to reach the ground and drive them ofi"." 

Under the chapter head " The Spirit of the South," we shall 
give further evidences of that malignancy of the Southern heart 
which was one of the prime causes of the Rebellion : — the 
above extract we introduce to show, at this point what a differ- 
ence there was between the North and South, as exemplified 
in the relative spirit and character of their volunteers. 

Adjutant-General Schouler, of Massachusetts, in his Report 

* Private Moses Jenkins, of the Rhode Island First, was worth one 
million dollars. Others in the same regiment were worth their tens 
of thousands. Mr. Jenkins had arranged for a tour to Europe, and 
had purchased his ticket. At the call he tore up his ticket and fol- 
lowed his regiment. 



OFTHEWAR. 41 

for 1861, referred to some of the incidents illustrative of the 
alacrity with which the men came to the first call. He said : 
"The first call for troops was by a telegram from Senator Wil- 
son, dated at Washington, April 15th, requesting twenty com- 
panies to be sent immediately to Washington, and there 
mustered into service. * * * rji^jg order was 
sent by mail and by special messengers to the Colonels, who 
severally resided at Lowell, Quincy, New Bedford, and Lynn. 
The companies were scattered through the cities and towns of 
Plymouth, Bristol, Norfolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties. 

"/?'i obedience to orders, nearly every company in the above 
regiments arrived in Boston the next day. The first were three 
infantry companies from Marblehead, under Captains Mai-tin, 
Phillips, and Boardman. They arrived at the Eastern depot 
at nine o'clock A. M., and were welcomed by a large multitude 
of people, who cheered the gallant and devoted men as they 
marched to their quarters at Faneuil Hall, through rain and 
sleet, to the music of ' Yankee Doodle.' During the entire 
day the troops arrived at Boston by the different railroad 
trains. 

" Captain Pratt, in command of the Worcester company, 
received his order to join the Sixth regiment late in the after- 
noon of the 16th, and he was in Boston with his full command 
early on the morning of the 17th. It was nine o'clock in the 
evening of the 16th before your Excellency decided to attach 
the commands of Captains Sampson and Dike to the Sixth 
regiment. A messenger was dispatched to Stoneham, with 
orders for Captain Dike. He reported to me at eight o'clock 
the next morning, that he found Captain Dike at his house in 
Stoneham, at tM^o o'clock in the morning, and placed your 
Excellency's orders in his hands ; that he read them, and said : 
'Tell the Adjutant-General that I shall be at the State House 
with my full company by eleven o'clock to-day.' True to his 
word, he reported at the time, and that afternoon, attached to 
the Sixth, the company left for Washington. Two days after- 
ward, on the 19th of April, during that gallant march through 
Baltmiore, which is now a matter of history, Captain Dike 
d2 6 



42 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

was shot down while leading his company through the mob. 
Several of his command were killed and wounded, and he 
received a wound in the leg, which will render him a cripple 
for life." 

The spirit of New York loyalty was betrayed in the eager 
attention given by all classes to the mustering and movements 
of the regiments. The New York Seventh, chiefly composed 
of the young men of wealthy families, volunteered to go on to 
Washington and remain there one month, or longer if neces- 
sary for the safety of the Capital. It left the city amidst the 
greatest excitement, April 19th. April 21st, it was followed by 
the New York Seventy -first, Twelfth, and Sixth regiments, all 
of the organized State militia, which volunteered as regiments, 
for the three months service. The Sixty-ninth, Eighth, and 
Thirteenth, started forward April 23d. It was thus the Em- 
pire State answered, with her choice troops, the first calls for 
aid. The departure of the regiments, by transports, April 
21st, (Sunday,) was accompanied by such popular manifesta- 
tions, as to be worthy of record. From the report prepared 
for the press we gather these paragraphs : 

" The usual quiet of our city on the Sabbath-day was broken 
at an early hour, yesterday, with the note of preparation for 
the departure of the Sixth, Twelfth, and Seventy-first regi- 
ments, to whom orders had been issued on the day previous. 
The flags that had the day before been thrown to the breeze 
were generally still flying, and squads of recruits, with drum 
and fife, paraded the streets for an early airing. Officers in 
undress uniform may be seen, with an air of business, hurrying 
in different directions ; and the chimes of Old Trinity mingled 
with the boom of cannon fired in the Park. By nine o'clock 
the multitudes began to swarm the streets, and Broadway bade 
fair to furnish a repetition of the patriotic scene of the day pre- 
vious. The Sunday papers, in consequence of the surveillance 
under which the telegraph had passed, did not contain the 
gossiping dispatches which the public have so long been accus- 
tomed to find. In this respect there was a void. 

" The Armories presented an animated scene. In front of 



OFTHEWAE. 43 

tliem the streets were filled witli tlie patriotic masses, and tlie 
police experienced difficulty in keeping a passage open for the 
ingress and egress of those who were entitled to enter. None 
were allowed inside but members of the corps, their immediate 
friends, or those in some way connected with their movements, 
and the reporters. Inside all was business and bustle, not to 
any confusion. Here and there were mothers and sisters part- 
ing with sons and brothers, or with motherly and sisterly interest 
were engaged in assisting to arrange the blankets and pack the 
soldier's limited baggage, to which there was certain to be 
added some memento or other thing that relates to his comfort 
and welfare. Words of patriotic encouragement and tenderest 
affection were spoken at leave-takings. But these had gene- 
rally been spoken at home, where we could not penetrate, 
though we might recite many a touching scene, where parents 
gave up their sons, and wives their husbands to serve their 
country. 

" It was shortly after ten o'clock when the regiments began 
to form on Bond street, leading to Broadway. Hither the 
people had thronged in immense numbers, and what was 
among the noticeable things, was the presence in that vicinity 
and down Broadway, of some fifteen or twenty Fire Engines, 
and Hook and Ladder Companies, including two Steam Engines. 
It was appropriate, for hundreds of those about to leave have 
long served in the Department, or at least, in the expressive 
parlance of the day, have ' run with the machine' many a 
year. In the hour that elapsed, the crowd in Broadway 
swelled to the large proportions which we are accustomed to 
see only on great occasions. At the junction with Canal street, 
it was the largest, because the Sixth regiment would at this 
point leave Broadway, and proceed to the Baltic, at the foot of 
Canal street. While waiting for its appearance, ' The Star- 
Spangled Banner,' 'Hail Columbia,' ' Bed, White and Blue,' 
and other similar airs, were sung by thousands of voices. 

" It was about twelve o'clock when the Sixth regiment moved 
from their armory down Broadway. It was the signal for the 
wildest outburst. The shouts and cheers which rose from the 



4.4 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

multitude at the junction of these two streets, were caught up 
and prolonged almost the whole length of Broadway. At every 
step the soldiers were greeted with the wildest demonstrations, 
not only from the people that lined the streets, but from the 
windows and the roofs of buildings on the rout# More than 
once a mother darted from the crowd, and in spite of police or 
other restraints, gave her son a parting kiss — only one — for 
the column moved on, and the boy was a soldier now, bound 
for the seat of war, and there was no such thing as stopping. 
Discipline could not restrain adieus between old friends, who 
ivould shake hands, and give and take hastily spoken but 
hearty good-byes. The Twelfth and Seventy-first regiments 
followed, when there was a repetition of the scenes of the 
previous half-hour. 

" So great was the throng in Canal street that it was with 
the greatest difficulty that the police force could clear the way 
for the Sixth to pass. The crowd was entirely good-natured, 
but enthusiastic, and determined to extend its greetings to the 
soldiers from a position as close as they could assume. The 
Sixth was accompanied by several files of citizens as an escort, 
but the multitude mistook all in citizens' clothes for volun- 
teers, and cheered them tremendously. At the foot of Canal 
street there were thousands of ladies congregated — the windows 
and roofs of the houses commanding a view of the pier teem- 
ing with crinoline and female apparel. Monahan's band, which, 
headed the regiment, here struck up that favorite soldier's air, 
' The Girl I left behind me,' which was received with tremen- 
dous cheering and waving of hats and handkerchiefs. 

" Arriving on the covered pier, the regiment was marched 
on board the Baltic, taking position on the upper deck. Then 
came the order, ' All who are not going to fight, ashore ;' the 
last farewell was hastily spoken ; hands which might never 
be clasped again were clasped for a parting shake, and a stamp 
for the gang plank followed. But the vessel sailed not ; and 
as the quarter-hours succeeded each other, the crowd on the 
piers, sheds and contiguous vessels, began to grow impatient 
Gradually they began to depart, confident that some misman- 



OFTHEWAE. 45 

agement would prevent tlie sailing of the Baltic for some 
hours. Still hundreds of people lingered, anxious to wave 
their hats after the departing regiment, but their patience was 
rapidly becoming exhausted when the announcement came 
that the Twelfth regiment was soon expected to arrive. This 
brought the multitude back in such numbers that for a time 
the euorts of the police to keep a passage clear were unavail- 
ing. The glitter of bayonets was soon seen in Canal street, 
and the Twelfth regiment, accompanied by a cheering throng, 
approached. Arriving at the gate leading to the pier at which 
the Baltic lay, the regiment halted for a quarter of an hour or 
more. This delay was improved by hundreds of persons to 
engage in conversation with departing friends, or to add the 
last item to their stock of comforts, not to mention luxuries. 
Cigars and tobacco were freely distributed among the recruits, 
most of whom appeared with no other uniform than knap- 
sacks, belts, blankets, and muskets. One young man broke 
through the line of policemen, and forcibly seizing a young 
reci-uit, attempted to drag him away. The yoimg soldier re- 
sisted, and the police interfered, when it appeared that the re- 
cruit was the only brother of the one who had seized him, and 
the latter contended that his brother was too young to become 
a soldier. The patriotic youth would not yield, however, and 
so, after a hasty and affectionate parting with his weeping bro- 
ther, he resumed his place in the line, and marched onward. 

" The Twelfth was eventually admitted on the pier, when the 
cause of the delay was made known. The mismanagement 
of some person in authority had got the two regiments most 
effectually mixed. It was intended that the Twelfth regiment 
should sail by the Baltic^ and their baggage had accordingly 
been stowed in the hold of that vessel. The Sixth regiment 
received orders to march to the Baltic^ and they complied im- 
mediately by taking possession of the ship. The consequence 
was, that the members of the Twelfth regiment were forced to 
dispose themselves as best they could among the bales of hay 
and other freight on the pier. Many of these soldiers were 
worn out with the fatigue of preparation, and had contemplated 



46 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

a good rest on sliipboard, but in tliis they were mistaken. 
Added to the discomfort of their standing for hours on the 
pier, most of them had partaken of an early breakfast, and the 
pangs of hunger began to be seriously felt. From one o'clock 
to fom' they thus waited, with no place to rest and nothing to 
eat, surrounded by a curious and constantly moving crowd, 
when an attempt was made to comfort their inner individuals 
by a supply of food from the stores of the ship. Shoes of 
bread and meat were brought, but the demand outrun the 
supply, and caused much scrambling among the recruits. 
Much disappointment was felt when it became known that the 
steamer Ariel would necessarily receive the Sixth regiment, 
and that consequently the soldiers would not leave until after 
dark. Still the crowd would not disperse. With short inter- 
vals for refreshments, they remained at their posts, and only 
dispersed when the steamers were fairly under weigh. 

" The Seventy-first regiment, after marching down Broad- 
way, turned toward the North Kiver, and went through Albany 
street to Pier No. 12. The route was hned up to this place, 
where an immense crowd had gathered, which increased every 
moment. As the main part of the reg).ment were in the act 
of embarkation, the recruits which brought up the rear be- 
came the special object of attention from the crowd. Most of 
them had only muskets, some being old and rusty, and none 
of the recruits had yet put on the soldier's uniform. Some 
wore slouch hats, some ' plug' hats, some roundabouts, some 
peajackets, some had Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, and some 
looked as if they had recently left the workshop. This im- 
promtu appearance of the recruits, who numbered nearly half 
of the regiment, gave an aspect of earnestness to the cause. 
Enthusiasm burst forth in a continuous yell, which did not 
subside until the troops had left the streets. After this the 
crowd continued to look on until the E. R. Ouyler hauled out 
into the stream. 

" The cheering on board the Cuyler was frequently respond- 
ed to by a thousand Ehode Islanders on board the Empire 
State. The latter arrived in the harbor on Saturday night, and 



OP THE WAR. 47 

were anchored in ttie North River, off Jay street Their red 
uniforms could be distinctly observed from the piers, where 
liundreds of people gathered as early as the day dawned. 
During the day, the Rhode Island Regimental Band fi-om time 
to time played national airs, and at five o'clock the troops were 
transferred aboard the steamer Coatzacoalcos, which, until then, 
had been getting ready at the foot of Warren street," 

What a Sabbath day's spectacle ! . Yet it was heightened 
by the stirring on the wharves and on the water of the trans- 
ports loading for the South with the materiel of war, stores, 
&c. The press reported as follows of the steamers under orders 
on that day : 

" West street witnessed such a scene as will not probably be 
often repeated within a century. In addition to the excite- 
ment caused by the departure of three regiments of New York 
troops, the presence of one regiment of Rhode Island troops, 
and the arrival in the evening of another regiment of Massa- 
chusetts troops, the usual quiet of Sunday was encroached 
upon by the occasional blowing and smoking of at least a 
dozen large ocean steamers, which had been quietly freighted, 
and were now gradually waking up their gigantic powers to 
depart hence in concert, on a most important mission. A stroll 
along West street was sufficient to find out that the following 
steamers (and there may have been more) were about to de- 
part under Government orders : 

" The Ariel, Pier No. 3, had steam up, and was making 
much noise. She had been taking on provisions and stores 
for some days. An inquisitive crowd gathered here at six 
o'clock in the morning, and continued throughout the day. 
In the afternoon a squad of Metropolitan Policemen were sent 
to the spot, to keep order on the arrival of troops from Massa- 
chusetts by the Fall River steamboat. 

" At the next pier. No. 4, was the Goluynhia, the vessel, until 
recentl}'", of the notorious traitor Captain Berry, who, it is said, 
is not an American, but an Enghshman, and a Secessionist 
because he is unprincipled. She had steam up at 4 P. M. 
During Saturday night workmen were engaged on her all 



48 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

niglit. The Marion was at the same pier ready for departure, 
and had steam up at four o'clock. 

" The James Adger was at the stern of the Marion^ with 
steam up, some people aboard, and also ready for departure, 
as it appeared. Crowds of people were gathered along these 
steamers, and at some places on the decks and rigging of sail- 
ing craft in the docks and near by. 

" The R. R. Cayhr which took the Seventy-first regiment 
on board, was at pier No. 12. She lay in the stream after 
three o'clock. 

" Several of Mitchill's Line of Southern steamers, lying at 
pier No. 86, have also been chartered. The Star of the South, 
the Alabama and the Augusta are the ones. They did not 
have steam up yesterday, as they were not to depart until 
Monday or Tuesday. 

" The Coatzacoalcos was at the foot of Warren street, and 
had steam up. She went out to the Empire State at 6 P. M. 
The De Soto, one of the New Orleans steamers, at the next pier 
south of the Coatzacoalcos, was steaming up with much noise, 
as if about to sail, at 4 P. M. 

" The propeller Chesapeake, of the Savannah line, got steaioi 
up yesterday afternoon, and went out into the stream, but soon 
after returned to her berth, where she remained until night. 
The propeller Parhershurg, of the same line and pier, had steam 
up at the same time. 

" The 23ropeller Monticello, of the Alexandria and Washing- 
ton line, had steam up and was freighted with large quantities 
of war material, such as muskets, brass field pieces of improv- 
ed manufacture, grape-shot for very large guns, and large piles 
of boxes and bundles, the contents of whicli were unknown. 

" Adding considerably to the martial bustle, was the stated 
firing of guns from the several transport vessels having troops 
on board." 

This was but the opening of the Crusade for the restoration 
of the Union which followed. It was a sublime prelude to a 
sublime tragedy — one at which the generation stood aghast, 
but one of those which, since the world began, has initiated 
all great political and social changes. 



T^ . 



THE POETS. 

No liistorj of the Great Struggle will be complete tliat does 
not recur to the part which the poets of the land took in 
stirring the popular heart. City and country press teemed 
with lyrics and invocations, well calculated to awaken enthu- 
siasm in the popular cause. The occasion called forth many 
fine compositions, well worthy of preservation — some of which 
will, indeed, find their way into our permanent literature. 
Patriotism found in the poet-heart a full and deep response ; 
and the future will draw upon the poems of the spring of 1861 
when it would refresh its love of country and its faith in the 
Eight. We give such of the compositions as seem to us to 
possess a permanent interest* 

This Sonnet, from the pen of "William H. Burleigh, gives 
admirable expression to the sense of relief felt by the nation 
at the end of the suspense regarding the coui'se to be pursued 
in the crisis : 

* Many of the finest contributions Avere lyrics devoted to special oc- 
casions, oi" themes whose interest w-as but local or temporary. A col- 
lection of the choicest Lyrics of the War could not fail to be well 
received, but it would require a good sized volume to contain them. 
Perhaps some " enterprizing publisher" may be found to place sucli a 
volume on his lists, even though it may not pay the profit of a popular 
novel. If issued, it should be compiled by an appreciative and fully 
competent and unbiassed mind — to find which it will be quite necessary 
to choose some other than one of the standing/ literary providers, who 
infest the publishing houses of tlie metropolis. That class rarely thinks 
of looking for merit outside the atmosphere of its own narrow associa- 
tions, and warped sense of the beautiful. 
E 7 



CO INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

APRIL 15TII, 18G1. 

Thank God ! the Free North is awake at last I 
"Wlicn burning cannon-shot and bursting shell, 
As, from the red mouth of some voican's hell, 

Rained on devoted Sumter tliick and fast, 

The sleep of nges from her ej'elids past. 

One bound — and lo ! she stands erect and tall, 
While Freedom's hosts come trooping to her call, 

Like eager warriors to tlic ti'umpct's blast ! 

"VVo ! to the traitors and their robber-horde ! 
Wo! to the spoilers that pollute the land! 
When a roused Nation, terrible and grand, 

Grasps, in a holy cause, th' avenging sword, 

And swears, from Treason's bloody clutch to save 

The priceless heritage our fathers gave. 

Tlic " Alarum," bj E. II. S'odclcnl, is a fine poem, brimming 
with tliat terse enthusiasm whicli characterizes all true ^Ya^ 
lyrics : 

Men of the Kortli and West, 

Wake in your might, 
Prepare, as the Rebels have done, 

For the fight ; 
You cannot shrink from the test, 
Rise ! Men of the North and West ! 

They have torn down your banner of stars; 

They have trampled the laws; 
They have stifled the freedom they hate, 

For no cause ! 
Do you love it, or slavery best ? 
Speak ! ]\Ien of the North and West I 

They strike at the life of the State — 

Shall the murder be done ? 

They cry, " We arc two !" And you ? 

" We are one .'" 
You must meet them, tlion, l-.reast to breast. 
On ! ^lci\ of the North and West ! 



OF THE WAR. 51 

Not AA-ith words — they laugh them to scorn, 

And tears they despise ; 
But, with swords in your hands, and deatli 

In your eyes, 
Strike home ! leave to God all the rest, 
Strike ! Men of the North and West ! 

" A Northern Rally," by John Clancy, is significant Coming, 
as it did, from a leading Democratic Editor, of New York City, 
who had long supported the cause of the South, it happily 
illustrates the feeling which moved such men to action : 

We've borne too Inng this Southern wrong, 

That ever sought to sliame us ; 
The threat and boast, the In'aggart toast, 

"That Southern men wouhl tame us." 
We've bent the knee to chivalry, 

Have borne the lie and scorning; 
But now, thank God, our Northern blood 

Has roused itself from fawning. 

The issue's made, our flag's displayed, 

Let ho who dare retard it ; 
Ko cowards here grow pale with fear, 

For N(jrthern swoi'ds now guard it. 
The men tliat won at Lexington 

A name and fame in ftory, 
Were patriot sires, who lit t!ie fires 

To lead their sons to glor}'. 

Like rushing tide down uionntain side, 

The Northern hosts are sweeping; 
Each freeman's breast to meet the test 

Witli patriot blood is leaping. 
Now Southern sneer and bullies' leer, 

W"ill find swift vengeance meted; 
For never yet since focmen met 

Have Northern men retreated. 

United now, no more we'll bow, 

Or supplicate, or reason ; 
'Twill be our shame and lasting blame 

If we consent to treason. 



52 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Then in the fight our hearts unite, 

One purpose move us ever ; 
No traitor hand divide our land, 

No power our country sever. 

Key. Jolin H. Hopkins gave utterance to tliis truly patriotic 
National Hymn, — before, we may say, the rush to arms in 
April. It was afterwards submitted to the Committee on 
National Hymns, in conjunction 'witli music, (by C. Jerome 
Hopkins). It deserves to be embalmed in the Songs of tho 
Nation. 

God save our Fatherland from shore to shore; 
God save our Fatherland, one evermore. 
No hand shall peril it. 
No strife shall sever it, 
East, West, and North and Soutli 1 
One evermore I 
Chorus — God save our Fatherland ! true home of Freedom 1 
God save our Fatherland, one evermore ; 
One in her hills and streams, 
One in her glorious dreams. 
One in Love's noblest themes — • 
One evermore I 

Strong in the hearts of men, love is thy throne ; 
Union and Liberty crown thee alone ; 
Nations have sighed for thee ; 
Our sires have died for thee ; 
We'll all be true to thee — 
All are thine own. 
Chorus — God save our Fatherland, etc. 

Ride on proud Ship of State, though tempests lower J 
Ride on in majesty, glorious in power ; 
Though fierce the blast may be, 
No wreck shall shatter thee — 
Storms shall but bring to thee 
Sunshine once more. 
Chorus — God save our Fatherland, etc. 

A well-known lady writer gave to our literature this nobly 
conceived and finely rhythmed " Invocation." It is on3 f 



OFTHEWAR. 63 

these compositions called fortli only by moments of great pub- 
lic excitement, and may be referred to as indicative of the 
strong undercurrent of devotion to country wlucb possessed 
even the hearts of the women of the land : 

Oh, mother of a matchless race ! 

Columbia, hear our cry ; 
The children nursed in your embrace, 

For you will live and die. 
"We glory in our fathers' deeds, 

We love the soil they trod; 
Our heritage we will defend 

And keej), so help us God 1 
Rise, rise ! Oh Patriots, rise I 

Let waiting millions see! 
What courage thrills, what faith inspires 

The Nation of the Free ! 

Hail I brothers in a common cause ! 

True to your birthright stand 1 
The Constitution and the Laws 

Must know no Vandal hand. 
Let foreign foes invidious gaze, 

To see our light expire ; 
They'll shrink in awe before the blazo 

Of Freedom's deathless fire. 

Hark ! how the hymns of glory swell 

Above our fathers' graves ! 
Th' unfaltering men of Seventy-six 

Begot no race of slaves. 
The blood that bought our sacred riglit 

Still in their lineage runs ; 
No tribute gold, no traitor's might 

Shall wrest it from their sons. 

Shade of heroic Washington 1 

Still guard our Native Land 1 
Rebuke, rebuke each wavering one, 

Direct each ardent hand ! 
Oh, mother of a matchless race I 

Hear our united cry ! 
'Tis noble in your cause to live, 

And nobler still to die ! 
E2 



64- 



INCIDENTS AND AXECDOTES 



Charles G Leland gave to the press the following resonant 
Northerner s Call," set to the well-know German ah-, Burschen 
heraus / 

Nortlinien, come out ! 
Forth unto buttle with storm and shout 1 
Freedom calls you once again 
To flag and fort and tented plain ; 
Then come with druni and trump'and song, 
And raise the war-cry wihl and strong: 
Northmen, come out ! 

Northmen, come out ! 
The foe is waiting round about, 
" With paixhan, mortar, and petard, 
To tender us their Beau-regard ;" 
With shot and shrapncll, gTapeand shell 
We'll give tliem back the fire of hell. 
Northmen, come out ; 

Northmen, come out ! 
Give the pirates a roaring rout ; 
Out in your strength and let tli'em knoTT 
How Working Men to Work can go. 
Out in your might and let them f^el 
How Mudsills strike when edged with steel; 
Northmen, come out ! 

Northmen, come out ! 
Come like your grandsii-es stem and stout ; 
Shough Cotton be of Kingly stock, 
Yet royal heads may reach the block, 
The Puritan taught it once in pain, 
His sons shall teach it once again ;' 

Northmen, come out I 

Northmen, come out ! 
Forth into battle with storm and shout I 
He who lives with victory's blest. 
He who dies gains peaceful rest. 
Living or dying, let us be 
Still vowed to God and liberty ! 

Northmen, come out ! 

Oliver Wendall HoLnes, after tke burial of tie Massachu- 



OFTHEWAR. bO 

setts dead, killed bv the mob at Baltimore, pemied tliis adju- 
ration for the hour : ' 

Weave no more silk?, ye Lyons looms, 

To deck onr girls for gay delights ! 
The crimson flower of litiltle blooms, 

And solemn marches fill the nights. 

Weave Lut the flag ^vhose bars to-day 

Drooped heavy o'er our early dead, 
And homely garments, coarse and grey. 

For orphans that must earn their bread ! 

Keep back your tunes, ye viols sweet, 

That pour delight from other lands ! 
Rouse the:c the (hmccr's restless feet — 

The trumpet leads our warrior bands. 

And ye that wage the war of words 

With mystic fane and subtile power, 
Go, chatter to the idle birds, 

Or teach the lesson of the hour ! 

Ye Sibyl Arts, in one stern knot 

Be all your oflices combined ! 
Stand close, while Courage draws the lot, 

The destiny of humankind ! 

And if that destiny could fail, 

The sun should darken in the sky, 
The eternal bloom of Nature pale. 

And God, and Truth, and Freedom die ! 

One who had gone to the wars (Albert Bornitz), on his 
humble camp couch dreamed of her from whom his hands, not 
his soul, was torn. He penned her this passionate " Was it a 
Dream?" 

I sat in her garden (or, was it a dream ?) 

At the quiet of night, in the middle of June: 

Below, through the lawn, flowed a musical stream, 
And above, in the cloudless expanse, hung the moon. 



56 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Around us the roses were blushing with red. 
And the air held the odor of blossom and bud ; 

On my breast (did I dream it ?) was i^illowed her head, 
And the flame of the roses went into our blood 1 

The fire of the roses went into our veins, 
And the hue of the roses stole over her face ! 

And her sighs, faintly heard, were angelic refrains, 
As I folded her form in my ardent embrace. 

Ah, golden-haired darling ! jiroud hazel-eyed queen I 
Have I dreamed it? or was it not audibly sighed, 

By a being whose presence was felt, though unseen, 
That our souls were forever and ever allied ? 

It may be that I dreamed it : but after the war, 

Should the Fates be propitious, the dream may prove true ; 

Should I perish in battle— then know that afar. 
In a laud of romance, I am waiting for you. 

There is in this line poem an undertone of pathos^ wliicli 
makes it very touching in its sorrow : 

I know the sun shine?, and the lilacs are blowing, 
And Summer s^nds kisses by beautiful May — • 

Oh ! to see all the treasures the Spring is bestowing, 
And think — my boy Willie enlisted to-day ! 

It seems but a day since at twilight, low Immming, 
I rocked him to sleep with his cheek upon mine, 

While Robbj', the four-year old, watched for the coming 
Of father, adown the street's indistinct line. 

It is many a year since my IlaiTy departed, 

To come back no more in the twilight or dawn ; 

And Robby grew weary of watching, and started 
Alone, on the journey his father had gone. 

It is many a year — and this afternoon, sitting 
At Robby's old window, I heard the band play, 

And suddenly ceased dreaming over my knitting 
To recollect Willie is twenty to-day ; 

And that, standing beside him this soft May-day morning, 
The sun making gold of his wreathed cigar-smoke, 

I saw in his sweet eyes and lips a faint warning, 

And choaked down the tears when he eagerly spoke. 



OFTHEWAR. ^ 

" Dear mother, you know how those traitors are crowino- 
They tramjole the folds of our flag in the dust ; 

The boys are all fire ; and they wish I were goino- " 

He stopped, but his eyes said, " Oh say if I must I" 

I smiled on the boy, though my heart it seemed brcaMng: 
My eyes filled with tears, so I turned them away, 

And answered him, " Willie, 'tis well you are waking- 
Go, act as your father would bid you to-day I" 

I sit in the window and see the flags flyino- 

And dreamily list to the roil of the drum. 
And smother the pain in my heart that is lying, 

And bid all the fears in my bosom be dumb. 

I shall sit in the window when Summer is lyino- 

Out over the fields, and the honey-bees hum 
Lulls the rose at the porch from her tremulous sighin"- 

And watch for the flice of my darling to come. 

And if he should ftill his young life he has given 

For Freedom's sweet sake .... and for me, I will pray 

Once more with my Harry and Robby in heaven 
To meet the dear boy that enlisted to-day. 

The spirit of scorn at treason and liigli resolve to strike and 
spare not, rings out in these stirring stanzas, bj Franklin 
Lnsliington. It lias in it tlie clang of the old Eoman's steel 

No more words ; 

Try it with your swords I 
Try it with the arms of your Ijravest and your best ! 
You are proud of your manhood, now put it to the test: 

Not another word ; 

Try it by the sword ! 

No more notes : 

Tiy it by the throats 
Of the cannon that will roar till the earth and air be shaken ; 
For they speak what they mean, and they can not be mistaken; 

No more doubt ; 

Come — fight it out. 

8 



53 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

No cliilcVs play ! 

Wiistc not a day ; 
Serve ont the deadliest weapon you know ; 
Let them pitilessly h;nl in the faces of the foe ; 

No blind strife; 

"Waste not one life. 

You that in the front 

Bear the battle's brunt — 
When the sun gleams at dawn on the bayonets ahrcasfc, 
Eemember 'tis for Government and Country you contest ; 

For love of all you guard, 

Stand and strike hard. 

You at home that stay, 

From danger far away, 
Leave not a jot to chance, while you rest in quiet ease; 
Quick ! forge the l)olts of death ; quick ! ship them o'er the seas ; 

If war's feet are lame, 

Yours will be the blame. 

You, my lads, abroad, 

" Steady !" be your word : 
You, at home, be the anchor of your soldiers young and Ijraro; 
Si)are not cost, none is lost, that may strengthen or may save ; 

Sloth were sin antl shame ; 

Now play out the game. 

Bayard Taylor thus cliarmingly vv'orded the incident which 
it commemorates, of the okl soldier of 1812 pleading with 
General Scott for a place in the ranks : 

An old and crippled veteran to the War Dcijartment came, 
He sought the Chief who led him, on many a field of fams^ 
The Chief who shouted " Forward !" where'er his banner rose, 
And bore his stars in triumph behind the flying foes. 

" Have you forgotten, General," the battered soldier cried, 
" The days of eighteen hundred twelve, when I was at your side? 
Have you forgotten Johnson, that fought at Lundy's Lane ? 
'Tis true Fm old, and pensioned, but I want to tight again." 

" Have I forgotten ?" said the Chief: " my brave old soldier, No I 
And here's the hand I gave you then, and let it tell you so ; 
But you have done your share, my friend ; you're crippled, old, and grey, 
And wc have need of younger arms tmd fresher blood to-day." 



OF THE AVAR. 59 

" But, Genernl !" cried the veteran, a flusli upon liis brow; 
" The very men who fought v.'ith ii3, they sa}', are traitors now; 
They've torn the flag of Lundy's Lane, our old red, white, and blue, 
^ud while a drop of bhjod is left, I'll sliow that drop is true. 

" I'm not so weak but I can strike, and I've a good ohl guu 
To get the range of traitors' hearts, and pick them, one by one. 
Your Minie rifles and sucli arms it ain't worth wliile to try : 
I couldn't get the hang o' them, but I'll keep my powder dry 1" 

" God bless you, comrade !" said the Chief — '' God bless your loyal 

heart 1 
But younger men are in the field, and claim to have their part. 
They'll plant our sacred banner in each rebellious town, 
And woe, henceforth to any hand, that dares to pull it down I" 

" But, General!" — still jDcrsisting, the wee2)ing veteran cried; 
" I'm young enough to follow, so long as you're my guide : 
And some, you know, must bite the dust, and that, at least, can I ; 
So, give the young ones place to fight, but me a place to die I 

" If they should fire on Pickens, let the Colonel in command 
Put me upon the rampart, with the flag-staff in my hand ; 
No odds how hot the cannon-smoke, or how the shells may fly, 
I'll hold the Stars and Stripes aloft, and hold them till I die I 

" I'm ready, General, so you let a post to me be given. 

Where Washington can see me, as he looks from highest Heaven, 

And say to Putnam at his side, or, may be, General Wayne ; 

' There stands old Billy Johnson, that fought at Lundy's Laue I' 

" And when the fight is hottest, before the traitors fly ; 

When shell and ball are screecliing, and bursting in the sky, 

If any shot should hit me, and lay me on my face, 

My soul would go to Washington's, and not to Arnold's place I'* 

It was clironiclecl among the incidents illustrative of the 
spirit which prevailed at the South, that " a company of Con- 
federate Horse Guards, at Memphis, lately took a United 
States flag and buried it in a grave in the earth, with appro- 
priate funeral ceremonies." Some poet adverted to the act in 
this poem, which strongly reminds the reader of Mrs. Brown- 
in 2f's numbers : 



GO INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

So you've buried tlie flag at MemiiliLs ? 

How many fathoms deep ? 
What seal did you set on the Stars and Stripes f 

And •who that grave shall keep ? 

Alas for the dead at Memphis 1 

Mere dust to dust you bear ; 
No vision of Life all glorified, 

Of Love grown heavenly fair — 

No radiant dream, with a Christly sign, 

Of the Victor's living palm ; 
Of the odorous golden joy that dares 

Join Seraphs in their psalm I 

You never read, in a rich man's cave 
The Life of the world lay, slain ! 

And the mourning women went to watch, 
But found — where he liad lain. 

Come, guess — who roll'd from his cave the rock ? 

Who broke groat Pilate's seal ? 
" While the soldiei's sleep, and the women weep, 

Base hands the Body steaV 

Vain guess for knowledge ! Children dear. 

Not Death lay in that cave, 
But Living Love ! While the world above 

Went wailing — "■Died to save/" 

Well — judge if Freedom's sacred sign 

Can molder under ground. 
With the march of a million men o'erhead, 

Their banners eagle-crowned ? 

From Plymouth Rock to the Golden Gate 

A shout goes right and left; 
The aliens' dreamful watch is done — 

The sepulcher is cleft. 

Weak hands ! Heap clay on the Stars of God 1 

They never shone before ! 
They rend the shroud, and they pierce the cloud, 

All hail, then, Thirty-Four I 



OFTHEWAR. 61 

Nor sliould we omit tlie liumor and satire wliicli also flowed 
from tlie pens of tliose wlio scorned the traitors' and plun- 
derers' part. Punch came forward, from over the sea, with 
this terribly bitter — but wlio shall say inappropriate? — 
" National Hymn of the Confederate States" : 

When first the South, to fury fanned, 

Arose and broke the Union's chain. 
This was the Charter, the Charter of the land, 

And Mr. Davis sang the strain : 
Rule Slaveownia, Slaveovvnia rules, and raves — 
*' Christians ever, ever, ever have had slaves." 

The Northerns, not so blest as thee, 

At Abj"^ Lincoln's foot may fall. 
While thou slialt flourish, shalt iiourish fierce and free 

The whip, that makes the Nigger bawl. 
Rule Slaveownia, Slaveownia rules, and raves — 
" Christians ever, ever, over should have slaves." 

Thou, dully savage, shalt desjoise 

Each freeman's argument, or joke ; 
Each law that Congress, that Congress thought so wise, 

Serves but to light thy pipes for smoke. 
Rule Slaveownia, Slaveownia rules, and raves — 
" Christians ever, ever, ever must have slaves." 

And Trade, that knows no God but gold, 

Shall to thy pirate jjorts repair ; 
Blest land, where flesh — where human flesh is sold, 

And manly arms may flog that air. 
Rule Slaveownia, Slaveownia rules, and raves — 
" Christians ever, ever, ever should have slaves." 



Jefferson Davis, in his Message at the opening of the extra 
session of the Confederate CongTcss, 1861, said among other 
remarkable things, that all tlie South wished was to he let alone. 
Some appreciative person, through the Hartford (Conn.) Cou- 
rant., embodied the Secessionist's wishes in this effusion : 
F 



62 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

As Tonce I valkcd hj a dismal swamp, 
There sot jin Old Cove in tlie daric and damp, 
And at everybody that 23assed that road 
A stick or a stone this Old Cove throwed. 
And veuever he flung his stick or his stone, 
He'd set up a song of " Let me ah)ne." 

" Let me alone, for I loves to shy 

These bits of things at the passers by — 

Let me alone, for I've got your tin 

And lots of other traps snugly in — 

Let me alone, I'm riggin" a boat 

To grab votevcr you've got afloat — 

In a veek or so I expect to come 

And turn you out of your 'oiise and 'omc — 

I'm a quiet Old Cove, says he, with a groan : 

All I axes is — Let me alone." 

Just then came along, on the self same way, 
Another Old Cove, and began for to say — 
" Let you alone ! That 's comin' it strong I — • 
You's'e been let alone — a darned sight too long — 
Of all the sarce that ever I hcerd ! 
Put down that stick ! (You may well look skccrcJ 1) 
Let go Ihat stone ! If you once show light, 
I'll knock you higher than any kite. 
You must have a lesson to stop your tricks. 
And cure you of shying them stones and sticks, 
And I'll have my hardware back, and my cash, 
And knock your scow into tarnal smash. 
And if ever I catches you 'round my ranch, 
I'll string you up to the nearest branch. 
The best ymt can do is to go to bed, 
And keep a decent tongue in your head ; 
For I reckon before you and I are done, 
You'll Avish you had let honest folks alone." 

The Old Cove stopped, and the t'other Old Cove, 
He sot quite still in his cypress grove. 
And he looked at his stick, revolvin' slow, 
Vetlier 'twere safe to shy it or no — 
And he grumbled on, in an'injured tone, 
"All that I a.ved vos, letmealone.^'' 



OF THE WAR. 63 

To tlie ever-living Yankee Doodle the world owes mncli of 
its best Immor. Southern dislike of " the Yankees" did not 
serve to render the term any the less popular among the loy- 
alists. Ilence we find a large number of songs to tlie good old 
" tune" which were re-echoed among the hills of much of the 
"sacred soil" by the Nortlicrn troops — so little respect had 
they for the prejudices of their enemies ! Earlj^ in the cam- 
paign against rebellion, the following "Suggestions" were made 
by G. W. Westbrook : 

Tankee Doodle's come again 

Among the sous ofGotliam — • 
Not to see tlie gods and sliows, 

But to see the facts, and quote 'em. 

He heard of South Carolina's boast 

That Jonathan was craven — 
That Cotton was the king of earth, 

And nothing else could save 'em. 

But, Yankee Doodle says : ''Dear sirs, 

You know not v, hat's the matter — 
You see through glasses darkly smoked 

"With error and tobackcrl 

"Your darkies plough, and hoe, and dig, 

To raise j'our rice and cotton. 
And sugar, too, and cornstalks big, 

And many things forgotten. 

" You orter know that Yankees make 

Your cotton into muslin. 
And thread, and tape, and hosiery, 

And ladies' wear quite puzzlin'. 

*' Besides, they make the canvas sheets 

That forms the wings of commerce, 
To take your schooners and your fleets 

To every harbor on earth. 

" They also make the canvas bags. 

And send them to the prairies 
Of Indiana, Illinois, 

As the soil and climate varies. 



64 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" To hold potatoes, corn, and oats, 

And wheat, and rye, and barley, 
And sometimes coal, and ice in boats, 

And coverings for the darkey. 

" They also take your rice in ships 

Built by the Yankee nation — 
From Charleston's docks and New York slips 

All over the creation. 

" Your sugar, too, the Yankees take — 

Although they tap the maple, 
That produces matter saccharine, 

And forms a Yankee staple. 

"Tobacker, too, the Yankees chew. 

And smoke and snuff in plenty — 
The ladies, too, if you only knew, 

Send to you by the twenty 

"For early fruits and early flowers, 

Before the North can raise 'em, 
To decorate their lovely bowers. 

Their sweethearts to amaze 'em. 

" Then why this strife ? like man and wife 

In a domestic quarrel- 
That after all must end with life, 

With no unfading laurel ? 

"Jonathan's advice, therefore, 

Is, peacefully be living. 
And kind and true to every one, 

Forbearing and forgiving. 

"If you refuse to take this hint 

Intended for your fovor. 
We'll show you how the cap and flint 

Will cause you much more labor." 

Edward S. Ellis, a popular writer in the fields of romance, 
came out of tlie regions of fiction to discoui'se facts in tliis hu- 
morous strain : 



OF THE WAK. 65 

Clergj-men are mustering 

Members of their flocks, 
Satisfied they 're able 
To inflict some Knocks : 
Editors are gathering, 

And the walls of Fame 
Soon will show their " devil" 
What is in a name. 
Every inland steamer, 
Every train of cars, 
Bring their eager thousands 
Going to the wars. 

Tailors, clerks, mechanics, 

Shoomakers to boot ; 
Teachers tell their " ideas" 
Now''s the time to slioot ! 

Bronzed and honest farmers 

Say, " We're bound to jine," 
As the hardy fellows 
Hasten " into line," 
Students, doctors, lawyers, 

Make a sight sublime, 

Witli the shouklcr-hitters 

" Coming up to time." 

Officers and seamen, 

Salts and jolly tars. 

All are now enlisting — 

Going to the wars. 

Timid, tender maiden 

Softly gasps " My gracious I" 
As her gallant lover 

Swears he'll shoot Jeflf Davis. 
Proud and doating father. 

When he says " My son !" 
Hears his martial progeny 
Answer — " of a guii.''^ 

Gallant-looking firemen. 

In their flannel shirts, 
" Reckon they can handle 

Them 'ere Southern squirts." 



r2 9 



GG INCIDEKTS AND ANECDOTES 

Armies from the mountains — 

Armies from the hills — 
Armies from the workshops — 
Armies from the mills. 
Hosts of freemen, rushing 

Round the Stuipes and Staks I 
Verily the Southerns 

Will get their full of wars 1 

This may suffice for our half hour with the Poets. That it 
will prove a pleasant treat for the reader, we are assured. 
We have quoted such poems as were available. Many fine 
things are necessarily omitted if we would not absorb too much 
of our book with rhymes. The contributions of Mrs. Howe, 
Mrs. Whitman, Kose Terry, Miss Proctor, Oliver Wendall 
Holmes, R H. Stoddard, George H. Boker, T. B. Read, Low- 
ell, A. J. H. Dugannc, Alice Gary, Bayard Taylor, Whittier, 
John Neal, Park Benjamin, were very noticeable for their 
spirit and strength.* 

* We can but hope that some competent hand will gather and pub- 
lish them in a volume fitted for popular circulation. A large number 
of the finest poems went without an author's name. These it should bo 
the duty of the editor to carefully gather, and, if possible, to ascertain 
and make known their authorship. 



EARLY INCIDENTS. 

When one of the New York city regiments was marcliing 
to the steamer, a young man, who had risen from a sick bed 
to go with his compan}'-, fainted in the street A stul'dy fellow 
stepped from the crowd on the sidewalk, saying, " Give me his 
musket and cartridge-box." They were given to him, and 
without another word he marched on in the place of the sick 
man. 

In one of the Massachusetts regiments was a young citizen 
of Maine. lie had come from that State to Massachusetts to 
visit his mother, whom he had not seen for five years, and had 
been with her only an hour, when he was asked if he did not 
wish to volunteer. He said his grandfather went to Bunker 
Ilill on short notice, and he would go now ; so he bade his 
mother good hj^ and was gone. 

One of the captains of the Massachusetts Sixth regiment 
stated that four hundred were refused admittance to the i-anks. 
" It went agin me," said he, " to leave one fellow behind. 
"When we told him he could not go — ' I've walked fourteen 
miles,' exclaimed he, ' and given up a situation of a dollar and 
a quarter a day just to go, and I think you might take me.* 
When I had to refuse," said the Captain, " he sat down and 
cried." 

A Southern merchant wrote to a large firm in New York, 
requesting a list of the names of those who supported and 
sympathized with the "movement against the South." The 
New Yorker replied by sending through Adams & Co.'s Ex- 
press, a copy of the " City Directory ! ' 



68 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

A wealthy Quaker merchant in New York, had in his em- 
ploy a stout, healthy, able-bodied young man, without family. 
He thought the fellow could sen^e his country to advantage, 
and he accordingly addressed him thus : " William, if it is thy 
desire to become a soldier, thou art at liberty to do so, and thy 
salary shall be continued during thy absence as if thou wert 
here ; but if thou dost not desire to become a soldier and serve 
thy country, I no longer require thy services here." The 
young man enlisted. 

" My son," said a solid merchant to his heir and namesake, 
" I would rather give $1,000 than have you go to Washington 
soldiering." " Father," was the kindly but decided response, 
"if you could make it $100,000 it would be of no use; for 
where the Seventh regiment goes, I go." 

Before the sailing of the Columhia^ transport from New York, 
a demand was made in the name of the regiment that the 
emblematic Palmetto trees on the bow, paddle-boxes, and stern, 
should be painted black. The ceremony of obliteration was 
performed amid the most unbounded applause of the regiment, 
and the citizens on the wharf. 

The Harmony Society, of Beaver County, Pa., deposited five 
thousand dollars in the bank at New Brighton, to the order of 
Daniel Agnew, Chairman of the Committee of Safety, for such 
general purposes as the war movements might require. This 
society coasists of men of advanced age and peaceful pursuits, 
too old for active defense ; but they were patriotic, and deter- 
mined to do all that loyal citizens could do for the Government. 

A. lady of known patriotism who had done good service in 
sewing and contributing for the volunteers, visited her country 
place in Byberry, near Philadelphia, when the farmer, in honor 
of her arrival, run up a flag upon the barn. Said flag had 
been made some years ago for the children, and, to economise 
material and stitches, contained but three stripes and a short 
dozen of stars. Some of the neighbors beheld the tri-striped 



OFTHEWAR. 69 

colors and at once gave the alarm. In a short time an excited 
crowd from all the country around approached the place, bran- 
dishing weapons of every description, threatening to burn down 
the buildings. They took the strange flag to mean secession. 
It was promptly removed, and the crowd invited to an extem- 
pore collation. 

Among other incidents worthy of mention is that of Rode- 
rick AV. Cameron, a worthy Scotchman, one of the leading 
citizens of New York, who was offered a place on the staff of 
the brigade in which the Seventy-ninth (Scotch) regiment was 
to serve. In answer to the offer he said : 

" My Dear Colonel : I am rejoiced to see the prompt ac- 
tion of the gallant Seventy-ninth. 

" Scotchmen are invariably true to their allegiance. Although 
as a subject of Great Britain, I could not accept the flattering 
offer tendered to me by your good self, of a staff appointment ; 
still, there is no reason why a good subject of Great Britain 
should not be an acceptable volunteer to defend the laws and 
the flag of this great country. I therefore heartily tender my- 
self to serve in the ranks of the Seventy-ninth Highlanders, 
and share the dangers of those who wear the tartan of my clan. 
I cannot promise to be constantly with the regiment, but if 
danger threatens, I will endeavor to be present at the moment 
when the first shot is fired. 

" All loyal Britons must feel as I do, that it is for the honor 
and safety of Great Britain to support their cousins of the 
United States, and to maintain the Stars and Stripes as an em- 
blem of true freedom on this continent." 

It was this gallant Seventy-ninth which Colonel Cameron 
(a brother of the then Secretary of War) led to battle, (Bull 
Run,) and, in leading them, j^crished. 

The Cincinnati Times related a good story of an old fifer 
employed at the Military Institute near Frankfort, Kentucky. 
The old fellow had served in the North-west in the second war 
with Great Britain, and took part in the battle of the Thames 



70 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

fnid otlier fights. During the late Secession tornado over 
Kentucky, the cadets, affected with the fever, talked pretty 
severely against those devoted to the Stars and Stripes. The 
old veteran listened, but said nothing. One evening he went 
into the room of our informant, and seemed to be in some- 
thing of a passion. He paced backward and forward, saying 
nothing, and refusing to answer all questions. At last he 
pulled out his fife, and, sitting down, sent forth "Yankee 
Doodle" with its shrillest strains. Then he played " Hail 
Columbia," and then " The Star-Spangled Banner," while the 
tears rolled down his aged and weather-beaten cheeks. Con- 
cluding that, he jumped to his feet, and exclaimed : ^^Noio, 
d — n 'e?7z, I guess they knoiv which side Fm on /" 

Five sons of one mother volunteered at the first call for 
troops. The mother was absent fi'om home at the time, and 
WMS infoi-med by letter of the step taken by her sons. Her 
reply deserves to be embalmed in the casket of the Eoman 
mother's jewels. It read : 

" My Dear Husband : Your letter came to hand last even- 
ing. I must confess I was startled by the news referring to 
our boys, and for the moment I felt as though a ball had 
loierced my own heart. For the first time I was obliged to 
look things full in the face. But although I have always 
loved my children with a love that none but a mother can 
know, yet, when I look at the state of my country, I cannot 
withhold them ; and in the name of their God, and their mo- 
ther's God, and their country's God, I bid them go. If I had 
ten sons, instead of five, I would give them all sooner than 
have our country rent in fragments. The Constitution mast 
be sustained at any cost. We have a part to act and a duty 
to perform, and may God, our father, strengthen us, and nerve 
us to the task, and enable us to say, Whatever Thou requirest 
that will I cheerfdly give and do. May He bless and protect 
our dear children, and bring them home to us in safety. I 
hope you will provide them each with a Bible, and give them 
their mother's love and blessing, and tell them our praj-ers 



OF THE WAR. 71 

will accompany them, and ascend on tlieir behalf night and 
day." 

Colonel Hazard, the great powder manufacturer, wrote to 
Colonel Colt as follows : 

" I am informed that the regiment you are so generously 
and patriotically arming and fitting out is nearly full. May I 
be permitted, through you, and in behalf of my company, to 
furnish them with powder sufficient for fifty thousand cart- 
ridges, or as much as you may require for target practice, 
which they and you will please accept from your friend." 

Colonel Colt fitted out and fally armed with his choicest 
weapons a complete regiment As early as January, 1861, it 
is said, the Colonel gave orders that no arms should be sold 
to the South. It has been stated that arms were supplied to 
all orders up to the breaking out of hostilities, thojigh it is cer- 
tain that Colonel Colt was thoroughly loyal. 

A letter from Philadelphia, dated April 21st, gave this pic- 
ture of affairs in that city : " Pennsylvania has for once eclips- 
ed New York ! In this contest for the prize of self-sacrificing 
patriotism which now prevails among the States, you can gen- 
erously afford to listen and acknowledge the fact. Pennsyl- 
vania passed the first thoroughgoing war bill, authorizing the 
Governor to call out any number of men, and giving $500,000. 
New York followed with $3,000,000 and thirt}^ thousand men. 
This was worthy of the great heart of New York. It electri- 
fied and staggered us — we were fairly outdone. But when 
Sumter was assailed we recovered our equilibrium, and our 
Legislature, by unanimous vote — the whole Democracy fusing 
with us — pledged the State of Pennsylvania ' to any amount, 
and to every extent,' to sustain the Government and put down 
treason. There it stands upon the record, wholly unsurpassed, 
overtopping even glorious New York. Do what others may, 
can any devotion to the Union exceed. this ? Now this is not 
bravado. Our whole population is ablaze with eagerness to 
see it realized, Oui' city banks immediately offered all the 



72 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

money Pennsylvania miglit want. Private citizens tendered 
money in amounts never before offered, and I do believe that 
if Government were to offer $100,000,000 of Treasury notes in 
Pennsylvania, small enough, for general circulation, they would 
be absorbed ia less than thirty days. Our confidence in the 
Government is firmer than it ever was, and every new devel- 
opment of its vigorous policy serves to strengthen it. Two 
such communities as New York and Pennsylvania moving 
shoulder to shoulder, seeking to outdo each other in the race 
of devotion to a common country, present a spectacle at which 
the world may not only wonder, but exult, and before which 
treason will, ere yet, call upon the mountains to cover it. 

" On Friday last it was discovered that ten thousand uni- 
forms for our volunteers must be supplied by the State, and 
orders were at once issued for making them. The empty Gi- 
rard House* was rented, an army of cutters employed, cloth 
furnished by merchants at mere nominal prices, and our wo- 
men, taking fire at the call, came by thousands to offer their 
help to make up. No such sight was ever seen. The large 
building is now filled with ladies, wives of our best citizens, 
with their daughters, working all day on coats and blankets, 
aided by an army of sewing-machines. At least three thou- 
sand persons, mostly ladies, are now at work, aided by one 
hundred cutters. Ladies come from all parts, town and coun- 
try, volunteering to take home work, and Chesnut street is 
fairly blocked up with these patriotic women seeking to do 
something for the cause. The work thus goes bravely on. 
Another incident of the times is the organization of a body of 
some three hundred women as nurses, experienced hands, who 
intend going with the troops to take care of the sick and 
wounded. Most of these are young women in robust health. 
This same anxiety to aid the cause appears in all the neigh- 
boring towns. In short, the spectacle of a people so united 
has probably never been seen." 

The same letter added these incidents of the hour : " The 
general enthusiasm breaks forth in a multitude of novel shapes. 
Boys are peddling Union flags mounted on sticks in all our 



OPTHEWAR. 73 

tliorouglifares, and from their hands thej find their way into 
all the neighboring towns, where tliej hang from window and 
doorpost. Men walk our streets under umbrellas made of 
material printed with the Stars and Stripes. The first who 
showed himself under such a banner was greeted with cheers 
as he moved along. Union parasols of printed silks are com- 
ing out for the ladies. Four hundred girls in one of our pub- 
lic schools have each contributed stitches in a huge flag, and 
raised it on the school-house amid tremendous cheering. The 
women are working laboriously for the volunteers and their 
families, v/hom they leave behind them. One lady has smug- 
gled herself in as a volunteer alongside her husband, dressed 
in a suit of his clothes, and passing as his brother. Othera, 
unmarried, have ofiered themselves as vivandiers, to accom- 
pany the troops. The owners of many small houses occupied 
by departing volunteers have notified them that they shall 
charge no rent while they are absent at the wars, and others 
are imitating tlie example thus set. A vast array of names — 
some forty thousand — has been signed to the pledge of faitb- 
fulness to the Government, drawn up and headed by Horace 
Binney. Captain Archambault, an old officer under Napoleon, 
has called out the French citizens to swell the ranks of the 
Garde Lafayette under his command, and they respond heart- 
ily. The vitmost rivalry prevails among the companies now 
forming as to which shall be first filled. Drilling goes on 
nightly in at least fifty places. I saw some six hundred vol- 
unteers marching in one body behind the recruiting ofQcer, 
through as drenching a rain as ever fell. The Stock Brokers, 
as a body, have unanimously pledged themselves to sustain 
the Government. The Drug Exchange people have done the 
same thing. Factory hands are every where giving combined 
expression to similar sentiments. Men over sixty years old 
are presenting themselves as volunteers, and insisting on being 
accepted. Merchants and business men, exempt by age from 
military duty, have organized a home guard of ten thousand 
for city defense. Arms arc in great demand, and our manu- 
factures are as busy as bees. There is a complete cessation 
Q 10 



74 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

of sliipmeuts of all kinds of merchandise to tlie rebel States, 
money in hand not tempting our citizens to either feeding or 
clothing them. I hear a rnmor of a force of live thousand 
blacks being organized. They offer to raise that number of 
men provided a pledge is given them that they will be march- 
ed directly down among the rebels. Such a body could bo 
raised here, and in this neighborhood." 

It may be said, in reference to this last sentence regarding 
the blacks, that great numbers of those residing in the North- 
ern States — large numbers of whom were well-to-do people — 
were anxious to serve their country ; but, in no instance dur- 
ing the war were they called into field service. Numbers of 
" contrabands" were employed in camp, hospital and laborer 
service ; but, throughout all the war the loyal blacks were not 
permitted to take up arms. The reason, doubtless, was, that a 
great hue and cry would have been raised by the enemies of 
this Government, here and in Europe, that the negroes were 
being let loose to " commit atrocities" upon the South. As if 
negroes could rival in atrocity the savages who made drinking 
cups of the skulls of the " Fire Zouaves," and who brutally 
scourged, starved, robbed and hung the defenseless Unionists 
of Tennessee ! When Parson Brownlow, at an early day of 
the rebellion, said : " If it shall so happen, in the progress of 
affairs, that the authorities of the land shall give us our 
choice, and submit the same to us as an ultimatum^ either to 
go to h— or take refuge in the Southern Confedej-acy, we will 
claim a week to consider of the matter, and to make up our 
mind, as between the two evils"- — he simply showed that he 
appreciated the spirit of malice and evil upon which the whole 
movement was founded. 

The following is a specimen of the news dealt out to the 
Southern people. It is from a New Orleans journal : 
" All the Massachusetts troops now in Washington are ne- 
groes, with the exception of two or three drummer-boys. 
General Butler, in command, is a native of Liberia. Our 
readers may recollect old Ben, the barber, who kept a shop in 



OFTHEWAR. 75 

Poydras street, and emigrated to Liberia witli a small compe- 
tence. General Butler is his son." As General Butler and 
some Massachusetts troops had the pleasure of taking posses- 
sion of New Orleans, the people of that city had an oppor- 
tunity of testing his "quality." 

When General Butler, in command of the Massachusetts 
regiments, landed at Annapolis, Md., some of the authorities 
protested against the passage of Massachusetts troops over 
Maryland soil ; to which he replied : " Sir, we came here not as 
citizens of Massachusetts, but as citizens of and soldiers of the 
United States, with no intention to invade any State, but to 
protect the Capital of our common country from invasion. We 
shall give no cause of offense ; but there must be no fugitive 
shots or stray bricks on the way." 

Butler's troops soon became noted for their general ef&ciency. 
Probably no regiment was called to the field, embodying more 
ingenious men than the Massachusetts Eighth. When sailors 
were wanted to take the Constitution (" Old Ironsides") out of 
danger in Annapolis harbor, fifty -four men stepped from the 
ranks. When the railway to the Annapolis junction with the 
Washington railway was seized for the transport service of the 
Government, the only engine was found crippled and useless. 
Butler's call for machinists was answered by eight excellent 
workmen — one of whom had helped to construct that identical 
enoine. The machine was in running order in two hours' 
time. The railway track had been torn up, culverts destroyed, 
bridges burned : the men were there to place all in order. 

The Sixth Massachusetts regiment — the regiment assailed 
by the mob in Baltimore — was chiefly drawn from the county 
of Middlesex, which embraces the battle-fields of Bunker's 
Hill, Concord and Lexington, and many of the men were line- 
al descendants of those who fought on those fields. 

In the Pifth Massachusetts was the Concord company, four 



76 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

members of wliicli were named Buttrick, sons of one man, a 
direct descendant from the Colonel Buttrick who gave the 
command at Concord bridge : " Fire, fellow soldiers ! for God's 
sake, fire 1 " 

How it sounded, to Northern ears at least, to hear its volun- 
teers characterised as the lowest scum of society. The Ealeigh 
Banner said, in urging the attack on Washington City : " The 
army of the South will be composed of the best material that 
ever yet made up an army ; whilst that of Lincoln will be 
gathered from the sewers of the cities — the degraded, beastly 
offscourings of all quarters of the world, who will serve for pay, 
and run away as soon as they can when danger threatens 
them." The Charleston Mercury characterised our troops as 
"invading swine." And so of almost innumerable papers. 
The opinion was so sedulously disseminated that the Northern 
volunteers were a beggarly set of cowards, (see page 40,) that 
the only wonder is. Southern "gentlemen" could consent to 
take the field against them. The Mobile Advertiser enlight- 
ened us in this fashion: " Ci^r volunteer soldiery is not the 
soldiery of necessity — men worth their hundreds of thousands 
carry the musket in the ranks. Plenty reigns in our dwellings, 
and is gladly abandoned for the privations of the cam.p. Such 
is the materiel with which we meet a mercenary pauper sol- 
diery. Who would doubt the issue when it is man to man ? 
The creatures of one side, sordid and indifferent, fight for so 
much per diem as the alternative of starvation. The men on 
the other side fight for rights and liberties, filled with ardor by 
the noblest impulses. Let these foes meet in pitched battle, 
and the sons of the South will triumph, were the enemy five 
to one." Alas ! how their dream dissolved in mist — how their 
tune changed before a twelvemonth ! 

Let us append, as a comment on the above, the followmg 
pleasing incident from the New York Sun : — " A tall, splendid- 
looking man, dressed in the uniform of the Allen Greys, Ver- 
mont, stood conversing with a friend on Broadway. He was 



OFTHEWAR. 77 

entirely unconscious tliat his superior heiglit -was attracting 
universal attention, until a splendid barouche drove up to the 
sidewalk, and a j'oung man sprang from it and grasjoed his 
hand, sajdng, ' You are the most splendid specimen of hu- 
manity I ever saw. I am a Southerner, but my heart is with 
the Union ; if it were not, such noble-looking fellows as your- 
self would enlist me in the cause.' The subject of the remark, 
although surprised, was perfectly self-possessed, and answered 
the cordial gi-eeting of the young Southerner with warm enthu- 
siasm. He was several inches above six feet, and his noble, 
open countenance, beamed with the ancient patriotism of the 
Green Mountain Boys, of which he was so fine a specimen. 
He had walked fifteen miles from the village of Chittenden to 
enlist, and was the only representative of that village ; but he 
was a host in himself Long may he live to honor our Stars 
and Stripes." 

In the same company of one of the Ohio regiments, were 
sixteen brothers by the name of Finch, all from Dayton, in that 
State, though born in Germany. This remarkable circum- 
stance — sixteen members of one family in one military com- 
pany — has not its parallel, we believe, in the annals of war. 

The Newport Artillery (company F of the First Rhode Is- 
land regiment) has a most notable history, which was thus 
naiTated by a good authority : " It is one of the oldest military 
organizations in the country. It is an independent company, 
and was chartered by the British Crown in 1741. With but 
three exceptions since that time (during the Revolutionary 
war, when Newport was in possession of English and Hessian 
troops) the company has held annual meetings under the 
charter and elected officers, who consist of a Colonel and others 
connected with a regiment The names of Generals Greene 
and Vaughan, of Revolutionary fame, Commodore Perry, and 
other distinguished personages, are omong the enrolled mem- 
bers of the company, which number between two and three 
thousand since its organization. In their armory, at Newport, 
they have an autograph letter from General George Washing- 
g2 



78 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

ton, written in 1792, tlianking tliem for an invitation to be 
witli tliem at their annual celebration on the 2 2d of February 
of that year, which is handsomely framed. Of the fifty-two 
active members, forty-seven volunteered their services for the 
defense of the National Capital, when Governor Sprague tele- 
gi-aphed to inquire the number of men they could furnish, and 
in a few hours the number was increased to one hundred and 
thirty-five by recruits. 



VI. 



THE HUMOR OF THE HOUR. 

One of the Ohio regiments chose for its chaplain Rev. Gran- 
ville Moody, a well-known Methodist minister. He refused to 
serve except the regiment properly equipped him with a full 
fighting costume, "for," said he, "in our persuasion we do not 
believe in faith without works." A good thing is also told of 
another " member of the cloth," in Ohio — ^Rev. Mr. Beattie, 
of Cleveland. Presenting a revolver to a member of the 
Seventh (Ohio) regiment, he said : " If you get in a tight spot, 
and have to use it, ask God's blessing if you have time, but be 
sure and not let your enemy get the start of you. You can say 
' Amen P after you shoot /" 

Corporal Tyler, of the Massachusetts Sixth regiment, when 
describing his experience in Baltimore, saj^s he saw a man with 
three stones under his arm and one in his hand, pelting away 
at the troops, when he fired at him, and — to use Mr. Tylers 
own language — " The man dropped the bricks^ and laid downy 

Southern Illinois was named " Egjqot," because of the mul- 
titude of Southern men who had brought, as residents, igno- 



OFTHE"WAK. 79 

ranee, and its coneomitant, insolence, along with them. During 
the excitement following upon the President's call for troops, 
the Southern spirit manifested itself pretty plainly in the lower 
section of the Prairie State. The occupationof Cairo by the 
Federal forces effectually " squelched" this secession spirit An 
old farmer one day said to the Chicago Light Artillery, whose 
guns made Cairo a terror to Secessionists along the two rivers : 
" I tell you what it is, boys, them brass missionaries has con- 
verted a heap of folks hereabouts that was on the anxious seat, 
and scared some others right into kingdom come f" 

A deputation of sixteen Virginians and eight Mary landers 
visited the President on the 21st of Api'il, and demanded a 
cessation of hostilities until after the session of Congress ! Mr. 
Lincoln, of course, declined the proposition. One of the depu- 
tation said, that 75,000 Marylanders would contest the passage 
of troops over her soil ; to which the President replied, that he 
presumed there was room enough on her soil to bury 75,000 
men. This is grim humor, but a fine instance of dignified 
retaliation to threat. 

The Charleston Mercury relagated its readers with these tales 
of the Fire Zouaves — a regiment which struck more real terror 
to the Southern heart than any other brought into the service 
during the entire war. 

" The first inquiry made by the Fire Zouaves on landing at 
Washington, was, with grave-faced earnestness, " Can you tell 
us where Jefferson Davis is? we're lookin' for him." "Yes," 
said another, "we're bound to hang his scalp in the White 
House before Ave go back." Another one, whose massive un- 
derjaw and breadth of neck indicated him 'some in a plug 
muss,' remarked, that they had expected to have arrived by 
way of Baltimore. " We would have come through Baltimore 
like a dose of salts," he added, wdth an air of disappointment. 
One of them beckoned a citizen, confidentially, to his side, and 
inquired, " Is there any secession flags about here ?" He was 
assured that secession bunting was an article that did not pre- 
vail there. He nodded, and added, " I only wanted to know." 



80 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" On coming down the Avenue, the Franklin Fire Company 
reel passed them at a sharp run, on its way to a iire ; and the 
familiar apparatus was saluted with such a yell of recognition 
along the entire line, as mast have fairly astonished the staid 
old reel. 

" Somebody remarked to one of the b'hoys, that his hair was 
cut rayther short. *' Oh, yes," was the reply, " we all had our 
heads filed before we left New York." They all look like 
fighting boys ; biit one company seems to have a special pres- 
tige tliat M'-ay. " If there's any mischief done, lay it onto 
Company 68," seemed to be a pet phrase amongst the b'hoys, 

*' Some of the Zouaves, in emerging from their quarters (Co- 
lumbian Market building) this morning, disdaining the tedious, 
common-place mode of exit by the stairway, let themselves 
down to the street from the third story by a rope, like so many 
monkeys." 

" One blank cartridge, hereafter. Captain, will be sufficient ; 
that being given, you can fire with ball ; ammunition is just 
now rather expensive," said General Lyon to one of his cap- 
tains, after four blank shots had been fired to bring about a 
steamboat that was passing the arsenal at St. Louis, without 
answering the summons of the river guard. 

This, from " Secessia," will bear repeating. The New Or- 
leans authorities seized a ship called American Union. The 
telegraph operators were somewhat confounded when the cap- 
tain (Lincoln) called on them to send a dispatch of this nature; 

" W. V. O. Moses, Bath — American Union in the hands of 
the enemy. 

(Signed) "A LINCOLN, Master." 

The Crescent says the operator would not let it go. " Why 
not ?" says the red-haired captain. Operator replies, " The 
Governor must countersign it." The captain inquires, " Where 
is the Governor?" " On Canal street, at his office," replies 
the operator. Off goes the captain to Governor Moore, pi'e- 
sents the dispatch, who was taken all aback, and so much 



OF THE WAR. 81 

amused, that the American Union^ Captain Lincoln, "was in 
the hands of the enemy," that he permitted the dispatch to go, 
saying, with a smile, to the Captain, that it would he so by- 
and-by. 

Nobody persecuted the South more than George D. Prentice, 
editor of the Louisville (Kentucky) Journal. His words of 
satire, daggers of derision, lightnings of lampoon, and wither- 
ing storms of wit, did more outrage upon the feelings of the 
rebels than a dozen battles lost to them. In the earlier stages 
of rebellion, his paper faii'ly scintillated with the flashes of its 
keen-cutting , though invisible, weapons. We here quote a 
few paragraphs by way of illustration : 

It will be a hard fight, and perhaps about an even one be- 
tween the United States and the Confederate States. The 
former has twice as many men and five times as much money 
as the latter, but the latter has Colonel Blanton Duncan. The 
thing is about even, we guess. 

The Mobile Register recommends the Secessionists to sell 
their watches. They might as well — have been behind the 
time, for a long while, by several centuries. If they wait a 
little, however, the United States will furnish them with 
"regulators." 

Some people kick a little at the Morrill tariff. This is 
small business, just now, when the rebels and their abettors 
are kicking over the moral tariff, in the face of all Christendom. 

Something the enemy will not be likely to do — Go Scott- 
free. 

A Northern editor calls Virginia " the seat of war and the 
seat of honor." He is making a butt of her. 

A man upwards of fifty years of age has sent us a commu- 
nication, insisting upon Kentucky's plunging into the war. 
We can understand why these old codgers are so anxious for 
hostilities. They know that their age would protect them from 
service, whilst we young fellows would have to do all the 
fighting. 

The North Carolina Sentinel says that a military company, 
11 



82 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

just organized in its town, has " elected Mr. Wmg, Captain, 
and Mr. Head, First Lieutenant." That company is like a 
sleeping hen — it has its Head under its Wing. 

The prevalence of patriotism at the North, in its entire ig- 
noring of partizanship and politics, suggests the coining of a 
new word for its proper expression, viz. : — Unionimity. 

Who wants a better " National Him" than Genei'al Scott? 
Univeesity of Virginia, May 17th, 1861. 

Prentice — Stop my paper. I can't afford to read abbolition 
journals these times — the atmosphere of old Virginia will not 
admit of such a filthy sheet as yours has grown to be. 

Yours, etc., GEORGE LAKE. 

To Editors of Louisville Journal. 

Lake ! — I think it a great pity that a young man should go 
to a University to graduate a traitor and a blackguard — and 
so ignorant as to spell abolition with two " b's." G. D. P. 

The Charleston Mercury calls the Yankee troops, now threat- 
ening the South, " tin peddlers." It is true that the Yankees 
have, generally, in their visits South, peddled tin, but we guess 
they mean to peddle lead this time. 

The man who, to make a show of chivalry, would wantonly 
provoke a war, the horrors of which must fall upon his wife 
and children, is unworthy to have wife and children. 

If any man scratched a name from our noble ticket on Sat- 
urday, we hope that his wife (if any woman has the hard luck 
to be his wife) scratched his face when he went to tea. 

Some fellows are getting to call every man who is for the 
Union, an Abolitionist. We have only to say that any man 
who applies that term to us is a base liar. We mean this for 
any " chivalrous" son of the South who wishes to make his 
words good. 

Mr. Yancey has not been publicly received by the British 
Ministry, yet he seems to have succeeded in getting its private- 
ear — {privateer. ) 

Humphreys county, Tennessee, is a fighting district. A 
Nashville paper would have us believe that seven hundred 
recruits came from it to join the Secession army, and when the 



OFTHEWAR. 83 

last company left, theTj had to tie the old men to keep them from 
going ; and that the women in that county, even, are ready now 
to volunteer in the service of the Confederate States. Q'his is 
the first time we ever heard of a Tennessee woman offering to 
serve in a bad cause. 

Some wretch proposes, as a great peace measure, that all the 
lawyers in the country go off to the war. 

Why is the Union like a crab-apple ? Because to be worth 
anything, it must be preserved. 

A Norfolk paper says : " While the ladies of this city were 
recently gathered in cutting out drawers for the soldiers, it ap- 
peared that after their labor was concluded, cloth was left for 
just one leg of the same. The question being raised as to 
what should be done with this, one of the number promptly 
responded, ' Oh, that will do for use, after they get back.' " 
All very good — as far as it goes. But as the Yankees don't 
mean to leave any legs on the Southern soldiers who get in 
their way, the ladies of Norfolk will have to keep that one 
leg of a drawer to remind them of what was. It will be then* 
ordy leg-i-see. 

The Confederates propose to remove their capital to Eich- 
mond. As this consists of stocks, bonds and treasury notes, 
the Montgomery people will be a little poorer and the Eich- 
mond people little the richer by this removal of the deposits. 

The only letters the Secessionists will have after the 31st 
instant, are their letters of marque — which are -likely to prove 
dead letters to those who take them out 

It is said that the gambling saloons in Washington are lan- 
guishing for want of business. The patriotic excitement in 
the city has been the ruin of faro, and " the board of green 
cloth" has adjourned sine die. All it has to do is to go after 
its friends and emigrate to — Eichmond ! 

The following rather remarkable story will do to go with 
that mentioned above, of sixteen brothers enlisting in one 
company. Though sounding somewhat fabulous, we are as- 
sured of its truth. The New York Evening Post related: 
" Before the departure of the Fourteenth New York regiment, 



84 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

a man wlio carried on a blacksmith shop in connection with 
two of his sons, went to the head-quarters and concluded to 
enlist He said that he could leave the blacksmith business 
in the hands of the boys — ' he couldn't stand it any longer, 
and go he must.' He was enlisted, 

" Next day down comes the oldest of the boys. The black- 
smith's business ' wasn't very drivin', and he guessed John 
could take care of it' ' Well,' said the old man, ' Go it' And 
the oldest son went it But the following day John made his 
appearance. He felt lonesome, and had shut up the shop. 
The father remonstrated, but the boy would enlist, and enlist 
he did. Now the old gentleman had two more sons who 
* worked the farm' near Flushing, Long Island. The military 
fever seems to have run in the family, for no sooner had the 
father and two elder brothers enlisted, than the younger sons 
came in for a like purpose. The pater-familias was a man of 
few words, but he said that he 'wouldn't stand this anyhow.' 
The blacksmith business might go to — some other place, but 
the farm must be looked after. So the boys were sent home. 
Presently one of them reappeared. They had concluded that 
one could manage the &rm, and had tossed up who should go 
with the Fourteenth, and he had won the chance. 

" This arrangement was finally agi'ced to. But on the day 
of departure the last boy of the family was on hand to join 
and on foot for marching. The old man was somewhat puz- 
zled to know what arrangement could have been made which 
would allow all of the family to go, but the explanation of the 
boy solved the difi&culty : ' Father,' said he, with a confiden- 
tial chuckle in the old man's ear : '■ Fve let the farm on shares P 
The whole family — father and four sons — went with the regi- 
ment" 

At Bangor, Me., a young man offered himself as a recruit at 
one of the offices in that city, who, evidently being a minor, 
was asked if he had his father's permission to volunteer. He 
replied that he had no father ; but admitted that his mother 
was not willing. " Then you must get your mother's consent," 



OFTHEWAR. 85 

said the officer. The young man retired, and returned with 
the following brief but noble letter : — " He is my all^ hut I free- 
ly give him to my country /" 

An Indiana man, with hair whitened by age, applied for 
admission to the ranks. He was rejected, owing to his evident 
age. Repairing to a barber's he had his hair and beard color- 
ed black, and again applied. The metamorphosis was so 
complete that he "passed." When asked his age he rephed : 
"rising of thirty-five." 



VII. 



THE SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH. 

A BRIEF section will not be uninteresting which will show 
to the reader the spirit moving the Southern heart in the con- 
flict with the North. It is by knowing the hidden springs of 
a man's actions that we are best able to judge him : so of a 
state, or a country : — by knowing the animus of its people we 
are all the better prepared to consider the justice or injustice 
of its cause. 

The rebellion sprung from a spirit of dishonor. It originated 
in no "wrongs" committed by the North; the North, as the 
dominant section, had rather sacrificed its own feelings and 
self-respect to assist the South to place and prosperity. From 
the date of the first purchases of territory to add to the area 
of Slavery and its political power, the South had experienced 
only a constant succession of benefits from the General Gov- 
ernment The great, oft repeated complaints of the non-en- 
forcement of the Fugitive Slave law, was shown, over and over 
n 



86 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

again, to be most trifling.* The election of a "sectional" Pre- 
sident was entirely and solely owing to the fact that the 
Southern malcontents ran Breckenridge against Douglas. The 
united vote for these two Democrats would have defeated Mr. 
Lincoln by over three hundred and fifty thousand votes ! And, 
all they (the Democrats) had to do to elect their man, was to 
run but one candidate at the next election. Besides this, they 
first set the example of electing a purely " sectional" ticket — 
Jackson and Calhoun as President and Vice President on the 
ticket of 1831, being both Southern men. The asseveration 
of the existence of an inimical feeling at the North against the 
South, was shown to be unfounded in fact; the combined 
Democratic and Bell-Everett tickets polled within one hundred 
thousand as many votes, in the Free States alone, as were given 
(in the same States) to the Lincoln ticket. 

What, then, was the cause of the secession rebellion ? It 
originated in what the "Western men call a spirit of "pure 
cussedness" — in the ambition of a few daring, resolute men to 
found a new government, in which they should be the master 
spirits — to engraft the idea of property in man upon the or- 
ganic law of such Govcrnmentf and thus nationalize Slavery. 
If other causes existed they were such as only would serve to 
strengthen the judgment of mankind, that it was one of the 
most wricked attempts against a good government that the world 
ever saw. 

The spirit fostered by the conspirators was one of Evil. 
Their game depended for its success upon the complete aliena- 
tion of the South from the North, and, in the place of respect, 
to plant the seeds of dislike. The press — that great engine 
for evil or for good — in the Cotton States was suborned, bul- 
lied, bought or cajoled into a support of the schemes for a new 
confederacy ; and, once on the side of the conspiracy, it lent 

* See the speeches of Mr. Douglas and of George E. Pugh, United 
States Senator from Ohio, (a Breckenridge Democrat,) in the U. S. Sen 
ate, Dec. 11, '60. 

t See the Exposition of the Southern Constitution made by the Vice- 
President of the Confederate States at Savannah, March 23d, 1861. 



OPTHEWAR. 87 

its energies to a dissemination of tlie most shocking falsehoods 
which human depravity could conceive. By these falsehoods 
the masses of the South were led astray, and kept ignorant of 
the most vital facts. They were excited into a violent hate of 
everything appertaining to the North; and, when the hour 
came for the shock of battle, the leaders found themselves at 
the head of a people swayed by passions whose malignancy 
were only excelled by their baseness. Does this seem a strong 
statement of the case ? Alas ! that the page of history is 
darkened by a record which proves all we have asserted and 
more than we care to assert. 

[A leading journalist — a Democrat — who had candor enough 
to express his sentiments on the relations so long existing be- 
tween his party and the aristocrats of the South, wrote (May 
15th) : " Southern people misunderstand us, and in fact de- 
spise us, in so vital a particular that we are not fit to live to- 
gether until both are forced to mutual respect. They actually 
look iipon us, in regard to courage, as little better than so many 
Chinamen or Sepoys, and the secret of this whole rebellion is, 
not any new endangerment of Slavery, but the revolt of a set 
of barons, who for thirty years have encouraged themselves to 
believe they are of a superior race, and fancied they had hit 
upon a proper period to withdraw and prove it. Though es- 
sentially aristocratical in all their sentiments and institutions, 
they had maintained an alliance with the Democratic party, 
because they had certain commercial principles in common, 
but they promptly sacrificed that party as soon as their mista- 
ken pride had culminated, and left it captive in the hands of 
the Eepublicans. It was some time before the Democracy 
could understand the philosophy of this action by its aristo- 
cratic ally ; but the depth of the desertion broke upon it in 
the acknowledgments of such men as Yancey, Keitt and Rhett, 
while the recently-developed predictions of statesmen like 
Calhoun, enabled it to realize the uses to which it had been 
put. The result is that the indignant Democratic party now 
stands foremost in this war, and seeks a fresh ascendancy by 
new devotion to the nation. It will not be hasty to form new 



88 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

alliances with a party wliicli acknowledges that all its tenden- 
cies are aristocratical, and whose main maxim, as uttered by 
one of its leading statesmen, is, that ' all labor is dangerous.' " 

This statement of the case is so eminently just that we are 
impelled to give it place. 

The first essay of the leaders was to rob and steal from the 
Government all that it was possible to appropriate. In Mr. 
Buchanan's cabinet one of the conspirators was placed at the 
head of the Treasury Department. He took the keys to find 
a treasury so over full as to render it burdensome ; he left it 
utterly depleted and the country's credit almost ruined " on 
change." His part of the enterprise appears to have been so 
far to bankrupt the Government finances as to render the in- 
coming Administration powerless to punish treason or to stay 
the revolution. Another conspirator was Secretary of War. 
His office in the enterprise was to fill all the arsenals in the 
South with arms and munitions, to stock all the forts with 
ordnance and supplies, and to send, away all their garrisons 
and guards. How well he performed his part is apparent in 
the sobriquet by which he is now known — " Floyd, the Prince 
of thieves." 

When the moment came to " spring the trap," these wor- 
thies withdrew from their dishonored places to receive the 
acclaims of their fellow-conspirators. A general " seizure" 
followed of everything which a confiding Government had 
permitted to remain in the rebellious sections — arms, muni- 
tions, money, military property, buildings, &c. These " seiz- 
ures" honorable men termed thefts or highway robberies : the 
Secessionists called them " captures" or " appropriations." 
The moral turpitude of the acts only indicated the baseness of 
" the cause," and the baseness of the cause only reflected the 
degeneracy of the people who approved of the secession 
revolution. 

A general repudiation of debts due to Northern creditors 
followed. The North, with astonishing liberality, had trusted 
the South far goods, for machinery, for provisions — had built 
Southern railways and canals — had stocked their marts with 



OFTHEWAR. 89 

capital ready for any want of tlie planter or real estate opera- 
tor. As a consequence the South became an enormous debtor 
— owing over sixty millions of dollars to New York city alone, 
which came due in the year 1861. To repudiate was an easy 
way, with dishonorable men, to discharge an honorable obli- 
gation ; and that Legislatures forbade the collection of debts 
due to the North through the State Courts, was only another 
crime to add to the category of sins which are now scheduled 
under the name of secession. 

It was so natural to abuse those whom they had injured, 
that we are not surprised to find the Cotton States, in 1861, 
fairly slippery with falsehood and misrepresentation. With a 
few honorable exceptions — exceptions which stand like green 
spots out of that Dismal Swamp of demoralization — the press 
adopted a system of paragraphing, whose first and last prin- 
ciple was to misinform their readers — to overrate their own 
importance and strength and to underrate that of " their ene- 
my" — to deceive and betray. A first impulse of men base 
enough to act the part performed by the Secessionists would 
be to contemn, and affect to despise, those whose favors they 
had fattened upon. Such paragraphs as that quoted on page 
40 followed fast in the van of events, as if to pilot the South 
in the way it should not go. A few more extracts will suffice 
to convince the most incredulous, of the base part played by 
the press in exciting the baser passions of Southern human 
nature. 

A gentleman of Richmond, Va., was in New York. The scenes which 
he witnessed in the streets reminded him of the descriptions of the 
Reign of Terror in Paris. Nothing was wanting but the bloody guillo- 
tine to make the two pictures identical. The violent and diabolical 
temjxjr everywhere conspicuous, showing but too clearly whither all 
things are tending in the commercial metropolis. A spirit is evoked 
which can only be laid in blood. The desperadoes of that great city 
are now in the ascendant. — Bichmond Whig. 

The tremendous outburst of ferocity that we witness in the Northern 
States, is simply the repetition of one of the most common traits of 
their national character. It is the ftishion of the day, the humbug of 
the hour, and it will cease as suddenly as it has commenced. Like 
straw on fire, the periodical sensations of the North make a great flame, 
h2 12 



90 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

but to sink to the ashes and the dust of iudiflFereuce as swiftly as they 
sprang. — Richmond Examiner. 

When the Commonwealth of Rome was subverted, the people were 
compelled to worship the image of the despots whom the brute force 
of the mercenary soldiery had elevated to brief authority. So it seems 
the Black Republican mobs of the Northern cities compel the people to 
worship striped rags as evidence of their obeisance to the Abolition 
despots who now desecrate the seats of power in the Federal city. — • 
Charleston News. 

The Richmond Whig says that the last reliable intelligence represents 
that Old Abe had been beastly intoxicated for the previous thirty-six 
consecutive hours, and that eighty Border Ruffians, from Kansas, under 
the command of Lane, occupied the East Room to guard His Majesty's 
slumbers. It is broadly hinted in a Washington paper, that his guard 
exerts a despotic control over the Presidential inmate — that all his de- 
crees are of its inspiration. The paper (The States and Union) then 
proceeds to shed a becoming quantity of tears over this " sad subject 
for contemiDlation." — N. 0. Sunday Delta. 

General Scott, it seems, has taken position against his native State. 
It is a sight to see the drivelling old fop, with his skinny hands and 
bony fingers, undo, at one dash, the labors of a long and active life. 
With the red-hot pencil of infamy, he has written upon his wrinkled 
brow the terrible, damning word, " Traitor." — Abingdon ( Va.) Democrat. 

It Avas, no doubt, the jsrofound policy of Lincoln and his foction to 
throw the operatives of the North out of employ, to secure the recruits 
for the army of coercion. Starvation produces a certain sort of valor, 
and a hungry belly may stimulate patriotism to a kind of courage which, 
on a good feed, will risk the encounter with a bullet. It appears that 
the Lincoln recruits from Massachusetts, at Baltimore, were in large 
proportion cobblers. The revolution seems to have affected their craft 
more than any other, according to some of the accounts ; their vocation 
gave them admirable facilities in the fight, especially in running ; they 
used their footing expeditiously, and took a free fiight with their solea 
(souls)— not one of them apparently being anxious, under the fire of 
Baltimore brickbats, to see his last.— Charleston Mercury. 

Massachusetts, the telegraph so reports, is all alive with the war 
spirit. Those who know these Puritan fanatics will never believe that 
they intend to take the field against Southern men. They may muster 
into service to garrison posts comimratively free from attack, and when 
they can be sheltered within impregnable walls, but the hereafter will 
liave little to tell of their deeds in the tented field, or the " imminent 
deadly breach." — New Orleans Bulletin. 



VIII. 



THE FIRST AND THE SECOND TRAGEDY. 

The movement forward, earl j in tlie morning of May 24th, 
1861, of the Union army, was the first definite step toward 
meeting the enemy. General Scott's plans were only known to 
the President and Cabinet, whose confidence he had, in an 
eminent degree. A journal well versed in matters, said, (May 
15th) : " General Scott is about to remodel the United States 
army upon the French system, so as to give it more efficiency 
and perfection. The old hero works with astonishing zeal, 
and his mind operates as actively as many a man at fifty-five. 
It is undoubted that he contemplates a long campaign, that 
Washington is to be the base of operations, that a large force 
will be kept permanently stationed here, and that all demon- 
strations in support of the loyal men in the South, and in 
furtherance of the determination to retake stolen property, will 
move from this point. Some complaints are made because an 
expedition has not already been sent into Virginia, for the 
purpose of capturing Eichmond ; but I am disposed to repose 
ray trust entirely upon the experience and patriotism of 
General Scott. He is heartily sustained by the President and 
Messrs. Chase, Cameron, Seward, and the rest of the Cabinet, 
although it is not doubted that Postmaster- General Judge Blair 
favors a more extreme and aggressive policy." 

The gathering of troops at the Capital argued something 
more than its defense. With approaches all open and com- 
manding positions unoccupied by Federal forces, the mere re- 
tention of the city would have been to insure its destruction 



92 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

for the enemy's artillery on Arlington Heights would have laid ' 
the Capital itself in ruins. The safety of the city depended 
on an advance. But, more than the protective policy it was 
evident was required. The fact became daily clearer that, if 
the Union was sustained it must be done vi et armis ; if rebel- 
lion would be crushed and treason punished, it would be done 
only by a campaign in the heart of the rebellious region ; if 
the Southern madmen were stayed in their designs, it would 
be necessary to meet them, on land and sea, with the fullest 
terrors of the outraged Government No one comprehended 
this more fully than the President and the venerable General- 
in-Chief; and we find their plans well developed, by May 20th, 
for an active prosecution of the war. 

It became evident at Washington, on the 23d of May, that 
some important movement was contemplated — ^that, in fact, 
Virginia was to be " invaded." The note of preparation was 
sounded throughout the camps on the afternoon of that day, 
though the officers were ignorant of the extent of the service 
to be performed. At midnight, the District Militia, six com- 
panies, moved forward as scouts and pickets, over the Long 
Bridga They were first on the " sacred soil." The New York 
Seventh was detailed as the reserve, and, forming line near the 
bridge, saw the whole forces, under General Mansfield, pass 
over, before it brought up the rear. The New York Twelfth 
and Twenty-fifth, the First Michigan, and the First, Second, 
Third and Fourth New Jersey, passed over Long Bridge be- 
tween two and four o'clock A. M. — the Seventh crossing at day- 
break. Above, at the Chain Bridge, McDowell's forces passed 
over, at the same time, comprised of the New York Sixty- 
ninth and Twenty-eighth, with Drummond's cavalry and a 
battery. This detachment took possession of Arlington 
Heights, and immediately commenced the work of constructing 
defences. The New York Fire Zouaves (Colonel Ellsworth) 
moved down by transports to Alexandria, landing, at five 
o'clock, under the guns of the Pawnee. The First Michigan, 
(Colonel Wilcox) moved down from the Long Bridge to co- 
operate with the Zouaves in the occupancy of Alexandria 



OFTHEWAE. 93 

The New York Twelfth took position about half-way between 
the two points. The Twenty-fifth advanced toward Falls 
Church. The Seventh held Long Bridge. The morning of 
the 24th found Virginia in possession of the " hireling mob," 
who had thus made their first step toward the work of 
" coercion." 

No enemy opposed the invasion — contrary to all expecta- 
tion. General Scott, in person, was at the bridge to be pre- 
pared for any emergency which might arise, but was not called 
to the field. Generals Mansfield and McDowell only found 
pickets far in advance of their lines in the morning. 

This step excited the country greatly, for the moment. The 
Confederates fairly shrieked in their imprecations ; and their 
vows of a summary revenge were neither few nor made in the 
most civilized spirit of modern warfare. We quote from the 
hnquirer of Richmond, as a specimen of the rhetoric excited 
by the Federal act : 

" We congratulate the people of Virginia that the last flimsy 
pretext of the Kump Government at Washing-ton, of regard 
for constitutional laws, has been thrown aside. The sovereign 
State of Virginia has been invaded by the Federal hirelings, 
without authority of Congress, which alone has the war-making 
power. Heretofore, the pretense that it was the duty of the 
Federal Government to repossess itself of the forts and arsenals 
in the Seceded States, has been put forward to justify the ag- 
gressive movements of Federal troops. But in the present 
case there is no such pretense ; no forts, or arsenals, or other 
Federal property have been seized at Alexandria. The 
' bloody and brutal' purposes of the Abolitionists, to subju- 
gate and exterminate the Southern people, stands confessed by 
this flagrant outrage upon Virginia soil. 

" Virginians, arise in your strength and welcome the invader 
with ' bloody hands to hospitable graves.' The sacred soil 
of Virginia, in which repose the ashes of so many of the illus- 
trious patriots who gave independence to their country, has 
been desecrated by the hostile tread of an armed enemy, who 
proclaims his malignant hatred of Virginia because she will 



94 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

not bow lier proud neck to the humiliating yoke of Yankee 
rule. Meet the invader at the threshold. Welcome him with 
bayonet and bullet. Swear eternal hatred of a treacherous 
foe, whose only hope of safety is in your defeat and subjection." 

But the occupation was not bloodless. Our country lost 
one of its most promising officers. Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, 
of the New York Fire Zouaves, fell by the hand of an assassin 
while in the performance of his duty at Alexandria. 

Colonel Ellsworth was, in many respects, a remarkable per- 
^son. His regiment of Zouaves were remarkable men. Both 
officers and men had been counted upon for extraordinary ser- 
vice from the known ability of the commander and the known 
courage and endurance of the entire regiment A New York 
city journal said of him : 

"It is about a month since a young man of soldierly bear- 
ing, of an unusually fine ph}- sique, of frank and attractive 
manners, and of great intelligence, called on us on the day of 
his arrival from "Washington, to state his wishes and purposes, 
in relation to raising a regiment among the New York firemen. 
A fortnight later we saw him on his way to embark for Wash- 
ington at the head of his men, and escorted by the most im- 
posing procession this city has ever witnessed. This man was 
Colonel Ellsworth of the Fu'emen Zouaves. ' I want,' he said, 
'the New York firemen, for there are no more effective men 
in the country, and none with whom I can do so much. Thej 
are sleeping on a volcano at Washington,' he added, ' and I 
want men who can go into a fight noiv.'' The impression he 
made upon us was that of a fearless, gallant and energetic man, 
one of those possessed of the qualities that distinguish those 
who have them as soldiers, and of powers that especially fit 
them to be leaders among men. In him we think the country 
has lost a very valuable life." 

The Zouaves gathered at his call with alacrity ; tAvo regi- 
ments could have been made up immediately from the firemen 
of New York city, had they been wanted. A short time suf- 
ficed to place the commander at the head of his men. In 
twenty days from the date of his first appearance in New York 



OF THE WAR. 95 

he was in Washington (May 2d) with one thousand of as brave 
and reckless men as ever walked the field. They only required 
to be ruled with a firm hand and led by a fearless heart to 
perform great service. In Ellsworth they at once had a leader 
whom they idolized and a ruler whom they obej^ed with alac- 
rity, for out of their wild natures he promised to coin heroes 
whom the country would love to honor. 

The regiment was chosen for the first forward movement in 
expectation of hard work. Theirs were spirits too eager for 
action, too accustomed to excitement, to bear the dead life of a 
camp. " Onward to Richmond !" became their cry. The 
troops broke up camp at two o'clock A. M., and passed down 
to Alexandria by transports. So utterly unexpected had the 
movements been conducted, that the "Virginia people were 
completely taken by surprise, and no opposition was offered 
at any point. Had the design of General Scott been betrayed, 
it is probable the rebels would have stubbornly opposed the 
descent and occupation. The Zouaves landed at Alexandria 
unopposed. The tragedy of Ellsworth's death soon followed. 
One who was present and witnessed the assassination, thus 
detailed its circumstances : 

" The Colonel gave some rapid directions for the interrup- 
tion of the railway course, by displacing a few rails near the 
depot, and then turned toward the centre of the town, to de- 
stroy the means of communication southward by the telegraph ; 
a measui'e which he appeared to regard as very seriously im- 
portant. He was accompanied by Mr. H. J. Winser, Military 
Secretary to the regiment ; the Chaplain, the Rev. E. W. 
Dodge ; and myself. At first he summoned no guard to fol- 
low him, but afterwards turned and called forward a single 
squad, with a sergeant from the first company. We j^assed 
quickly through the streets, meeting a few bewildered travel- 
lers issuing from the principal hotel, which seemed to be slow- 
ly coming to its daily senses, and were about to turn towaixi 
the telegi-aph office, when the Colonel, first of all, caught sight 
of the secession flag, which has so long swung insolently in 
•/fall view of the President's House. He immediately sent 



96 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

back the sergeant, -vvith an order for tlie advance of the entire 
first company, and, leaving the matter of the telegraph office 
for a while, pushed on to the hotel, which proved to be the 
* Marshall House,' a second-class inn. On entering the open 
door the Colonel met a man in his shirt and trowsers, of whom 
he demanded what sort of flag it was that hung above the 
roof The stranger, who seemed greatly alarmed, declared he 
knew nothing of it, that he was only a boarder there. With- 
out questioning him further the Colonel sprang up stairs, and 
we all followed to the topmost story, whence, by means of a 
ladder, he clambered to the roof, cut down the flag with Win- 
ser's knife, and brought it from its staff. We at once turned 
to descend, private Brownell leading the way, and Colonel 
Ellsworth immediately following him with the flag. As Brow- 
nell reached the first landing-place, or entry, after a descent of 
a dozen steps, a man jumped from a dark passage, and hardly 
noticing the private, levelled a double-barrelled gun square at 
the Colonel's breast. Brownell made a quick pass to turn the 
weapon aside, but the fellow's hand was firm, and he discharg- 
ed one barrel straight to its aim, the slugs or buckshot with 
which it was loaded entering the Colonel's heart, and killing 
him at the instant. He was on the second or third step from 
the landing, and dropped forward with that heavy, horrible, 
headlong weight which always comes of sudden death inflicted 
in this manner. His assailant turned like a flash to give the 
contents of the other barrel to Brownell, but either he could 
not command his aim or the Zouave was too quick with him, 
for the slugs went over his head, and passed through the pan- 
els and wainscot of a door. Simultaneously with this second 
shot, and sounding like the echo of the first, Brownell's rifle 
was heard and the assassin staggered backward. He was hit 
exactly in the middle of the face, and the wound, as I after- 
ward saw it, was the most frightful I ever witnessed. Brow- 
nell did not know how fatal his shot had been, and so before 
the man dropped, he thrust his sabre bayonet through and 
through the body, the force of the blow sending the dead man 
violently down the upper section of the second flight of stairs, 



OFTHEWAR. 97 

at the foot of wliidi he lay with his face to the floor. Winser 
ran from above crying, ' Who is hit ?' but as he glanced down- 
ward by our feet, he needed no answer. 

" Bewildered for an instant by the suddenness of this attack, 
and not knowing what more might be in store, we forbore to 
proceed, and gathered together defensively. There were but 
seven of us altogether, and one was without a weapon of any 
kind. Brownell instantly reloaded, and while doing so per- 
ceived the door through which the assailant's shot had passed, 
beginning to open. He brought his rifle to the shoulder, and 
menaced the occupants, two travellers, with immediate death 
if they stirred. The three other privates guarded the passa- 
ges, of which there were quite a number converging to the 
point where we stood, while the Chaplain and Winser looked 
to the staircase by which we had descended, and the adjoining 
chambers. I ran down stairs to see if any thing was threaten- 
ed from the story below, but it soon appeared there was no 
danger from that quarter. The first thing to be done was to 
look to our dead friend and leader. He had fallen on his face, 
and the streams of blood that flowed from his wound had lite- 
rally flooded the way. The Chaplain turned him gently over, 
and I stooped and called his name aloud, at which I thought 
then he murmured inarticulately. I presume I was mistaken, 
and I am not sure that he sj^oke a word after being struck. 
Winser and I lifted the body with all care and laid it upon a 
bed in a room near by. The rebel flag, stained with his 
blood, we laid about his feet. Before the first company, or- 
dered up by the Colonel, as before stated, arrived, we had re- 
moved some of the unsightly stains from the Colonel's features, 
and composed his limbs. His expression in death was beau- 
tifully natural. The Colonel was a singularly handsome man, 
and, excepting the pallor, there was nothing different in his 
countenance now from what all his friends had so lately been 
accustomed to gladly recognize. The detachment was heard 
approaching at last, a reenforcement was easily called up, and 
the surgeon was sent for. His arrival, not long after, of course 
sealed our own unhappy belief A terrible scene was enacting 
I 13 



98 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

on tlie floor below. A woman liad run from a lower room to 
the stairway where the body of tlie defender of the secession 
flag lay, and recognizing it, cried aloud with an agony so 
heart-rending that no person could witness it without emotion. 
She flung her arms in the air, struck her brow madly, and 
seemed in every way utterly abandoned to desolation and 
frenzy. She oflered no reproaches — appeared indeed almost 
regardless of our presence, and yielded only to her own frantic 
despair. It was her husband that had been shot. He was 
the proprietor of the hotel. His name was James T. Jackson. 
Winser was confident it was the same man who met us at the 
door when we entered, and told us he was a boarder. His 
wife, as I said, was wild almost to insanity. Yet she listened 
when spoken to, although no consolation could be offered her. 

" It is nof from any wish to fasten obloquy upon the slayer 
of Colonel Ellsworth, but simply because it struck me as a 
frightful fact, that I say the face of the dead man wore the 
most revolting expression of rage and hatred that I ever saw. 
Perhaps the nature of his wound added to this effect, and the 
wound was something so appalling that I shall not attempt to 
describe it, as it impressed me. It is probable that such a 
result from a bullet-wound could not ensue once in a thousand 
times. Either of Brownell's onslaughts would have been in- 
stantaneously fatal. The saber- wound was not less effective 
than that of the ball. The gun which Jackson had fired lay 
beneath him, clasped in his arms, and as we did not at first all 
know that both barrels had been discharged, it was thought 
necessary to remove it, lest it should be suddenly seized and 
made use of from below. In doing this, his countenance was 
revealed. 

"As the morning advanced, the townspeople began to gather 
in the vicinity, and a guard was fixed, preventing ingress and 
egress. This was done to keep all parties from knowing what 
had occurred, for the Zouaves were so devoted to their Colonel 
that it was feared if they all were made acquainted with the 
real fact, they would sack the house. On the other hand, it 
was not thought wise to let the Alexandrians know thus early 



OF THE WAR. 99 

the fate of their townsman. The Zouaves were the only regi- 
ment that had arrived, and their head and soul was gone. Be- 
sides, the duties which the Colonel had hurriedly assigned be- 
fore leaving them had scattered some companies in various 
quarters of the town. Several persons sought admission to 
the Marshall House, among them a sister of the dead man, 
who had heard the rumor, but who was not allowed to know 
the true state of the case. It was painful to hear her remark, 
as she went away, that ' of course they wouldn't shoot a man 
dead in his own house about a bit of old bunting.' Many of 
the lodgers were anxious to go forth, but they were detained 
until after I had left All sorts of arguments and persuasions 
were employed, but the Zouave guards were inexorable. 

" At about seven o'clock, a mounted officer rode up, and in- 
formed us that the Michigan First had arrived, and had cap- 
tured a troop of rebels, who had at first demanded time for re- 
flection, but who afterward concluded to yield at discretion. 
Not long after this, the surgeon made arrangements for the 
conveyance of Colonel Ellsworth's body to Washington. It 
was properly veiled from sight, and, with great tenderness, 
taken by a detachment of the Zouaves and the Seventy-first 
New York regiment (a small number of whom, I neglected to 
state, embarked in the morning at the Navy-yard, and came 
down with us) to the steamboat, by which it was brought to 
the Navy-yard and given over to the tender care of Captain 
Dahlgren." 

The excitement which followed this assassination was great. 
The Secessionists of course gloated over it. The press of the 
South was jubilant, and the ruffian who did the act was placed 
in their Pantheon of heroes. The press of the North mourned 
the death of one so chivalrous, so young, so early lost to his 
country. The President was shocked at the calamity, for his 
personal attachment to Ellsworth was sincere. A gentleman 
who happened to call at the White House to see the President, 
on the morning of the sad day, thus narrated the incident : 

*' I called at the White House with Senator Wilson of Mas- 
sachusetts, to see the President on a pressing matter of business, 



100 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

and as we entered we remarked the President standing before 
a window, looking out across the Potomac. He did not move 
till we approached very closely, when he turned round abrupt- 
ly and advanced towards us, extending his hand. ' Excuse 
me,' he said, ' but I cannot talk.' The President burst into 
tears, and concealed his face in his handkerchief. He walked 
up and down the room for some moments, and we stepped 
aside in silence, not a little moved at such an unusual sj)ec- 
tacle, in such a man, in such a place. After composing him- 
self somewhat, the President took his seat and desired us to 
approach. ' I will make no apology, gentlemen,' said the Presi- 
dent, ' for my weakness ; but I knew poor Ellsworth well, and 
held him in great regard. Just as you entered the room. Cap- 
tain Fox left me, after giving me the painful details of Ells- 
worth's unfortunate death. The event was so unexpected, 
and the recital so touching, that it quite unmanned me.' 

" The President here made a violent effort to restrain his 
emotions, and after a pause he proceeded, with a tremulous 
voice, to give us the incidents of the tragedy that had occurred. 
' Poor fellow,' repeated the President, as he closed his relation, 
' it was undoubtedly an act of rashness, but it only shows the 
heroic spirit that animates our soldiers, from high to low, in 
this righteous cause of ours. Yet who can restrain their grief 
to see them fall in such a way as this, not by the fortunes of 
war, but by the hand of an assassin ? ' Towards the close of 
his remarks, he added : ' There is one fact which has reached 
me, which is a great consolation to my heart, and quite a relief 
after this melancholy afl'air. I learn from several persons, that 
when the Stars and Stripes were raised again in Alexandria, 
many of the people of the town actually wept for joy, and 
manifested the liveliest gratification at seeing this familiar and 
loved emblem once more floating above them. This is another 
proof that all the South is not Secessionist ; and it is my ear- 
nest hope that as we advance we shall find as many friends as 
foes.'" 

The remains were removed to the White House on the 
morning of the 25th, under escort of the New York Seventy- 



OF THE WAR. 101 

first, as a guard of honor, accompanied by a detacliment of 
Zouaves, including Brownell, the slayer of the assassin. From 
the White House, where it lay in state, until three o'clock, p. m., 
the body was taken to the house of his parents, at Mechanics- 
ville, New York, for burial. Vast and imposing demonstra- 
tions were made over the remains in New York and Albany ; 
and at Mechanicsville he was buried amid the tears of a large 
concourse of people and in the presence of the local military 
and the guard of honor. 

This act of assassination was in perfect keeping with the 
spirit of Secession. A community where the use of pistol and 
knife were almost every day occurrences — where all indignities 
were wiped out in blood, was not likely to foster a feeling of 
loyalty to a Government, where just men aimed to suppress 
all violations of the peace. Jackson was a violent Secessionist. 
He flouted his odious flag from his house as expressive of de- 
fiance ; and, though Southern gentlemen did not make him 
their equal as an associate, they did not disdain to applaud his 
act and to accord him the place of a martyr in the cause of the 
South- 



IX. 



ELLSWORTH. 

The death of Ellsworth served to arouse the inimical feel- 
ings of the North, even more than could have been anticipated 
The fall of the officer in battle would have been mourned as a 
calamity, but would, nevertheless, have been ascribed to the 
inevitable necessities of war. His fall, by an assassin shot, 
i2 



102 , INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

gave no palliation to grief, but ratlier added to its intensity, 
and did not fail to reawaken animosities, which had somewhat 
subsided since the assault upon the Massachusetts men in the 
streets of Baltimore. Flags were placed at half-mast in all 
places ; men met on the streets to discuss the circumstances of 
the tragedy ; committees and town authorities continued to 
pass resolutions of respect ; everywhere was enlisted a feeling 
at once suggestive of respect for the memory of the deceased, 
and of undying hostility to the cause which the assassin repre- 
sented and typified. 

Ellsworth was a pure embodiment, in his tastes, experiences, 
and character, of the true American. It has been said by a 
supercilious foreign flunky— and his words are still repeated 
by the race of flunkies generally : " What is an American ? 
Composed of English, Irish, German, French, Spanish, with an 
admixture of all other civilized nations, to say nothing of the 
uncivilized and barbarian, it is difficult to realise what an 
American is. Will some one tell us ?" There is a fair pre- 
sumption that the person who penned the above might trace 
his own origin to the race of asses. Had the question been — 
" Tell us the characteristics which typify the true American it 
would have been answered as readily as the question : "What 
is the characteristic of an Englishman — a Frenchman — a Ger- 
man — a Moor — an Indian." 

In the record of Ellsworth's life wc have the life-history of 
many thousands of American youth, who have grown up uil- 
der the same peculiar circumstances — the same incentives to 
exertion — the same sole dependence on personal merit for suc- 
cess ; while in his energy, quickness of intellect, shrewdness, 
rapidity of performance of duty, his truth and manliness, we 
have the results of his American training and American incen- 
tives to development. From a humble printer boy he became 
a distinguished man, as thousands of humble apprentice boys 
have done before him, and as thousands will continue to do in 
a land where no law of caste lives down human energies, where 
no discriminations against choice of occupation prevails, where 
the dignity of labor is recognized. 



OF THE WAR. 103 

Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth, we are informed, was bom at 
Mechanicsville, in New York State, April 23d, in the year 
1836 — being a little less than twenty-live years of age at the 
moment of his assassination. His parents (still living) were 
then well-to-do people, of the village ; but, owing to great re- 
verses, did not command the means necessary to educate their 
son as became his evident, and early manifested talents. His 
education was obtained in the schools of his native place. The 
taste for military art and action soon became a leading mental 
inchnation; and his reading of books relating to war, cam- 
paigns and military service, soon embraced every volume with- 
in his reach. 

His habits of industr}^ and thirst for a wider experience with 
men and books, led him into a printing office. Having ac- 
quired a knowledge of type setting, he struck out for New 
York, to carve his way "to fortune and to fame." His expe- 
riences in the great Metropolis were severe and sad, and were 
scarcely less so after a year's experience in Boston. In 1857 
he found his way to Chicago, where, in company with Arthur 
F. Devereux (aftei'wards the most gallant Captain of the Salem 
Zouaves, Eighth Massachusetts regiment) he started in business 
— an agency for securing patents to inventors. All promised 
fairly for the two energetic men, when the rascality of an agent 
hopelessly shipwrecked their little enterprise. This so dashed 
the hopes of Devereux that he returned to Massachusetts, but 
Ellsworth remained. A biographical sketch in the Atlantic 
Monthly for July, 1861, said : 

" The next year of Ellsworth's life was a miracle of endur- 
ance and uncomplaining fortitude. He read law with great 
assiduity, and supported himself by copying, in the houre that 
should have been devoted to recreation. He had no pastimes 
and very few friends. Not a soul besides himself and the 
baker who gave him his daily loaf, knew how he was living. 
During all that time he never slept in a bed — never ate with 
friends at a social board. So acute was his sense of honor, so 
dehcate his ideas of propriety, that, although the most generous 
of men, he never would accept from acquaintances the slightest 



104 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

favors or courtesies wbicli lie might be unable to return. He 
told me once of a severe struggle between inclination anil a 
sense of honor. At a period of extreme hunger, he met a friend 
in the street who was just starting from the citj. He accom- 
panied his friend into a restaurant, wishing to converse with 
him, but declined to take any refreshment. He represented 
the savory fragrance of his friend's dinner as almost maddening 
to his famish'ed senses, while he sat there pleasantly chatting, 
deprecating his friend's entreaties to join him in the repast, on 
the plea that he had just dined." 

The same writer, evidently thoroughly familiar with the 
man, thus further wrote of his mental, physical and moral 
nature : 

" What would have Idlled an ordinary man did not injure 
Ellsworth. His iron frame seemed incapable of dissolution or 
waste. Circumstance had no power to conquer his spirit. His 
hearty good-humor never gave way. His sense of honor, 
which was sometimes even fantastic in its delicacy, freed him 
from the very temptation to wrong. He knew there was a 
better time coming for him. Conscious of great mental and 
bodily strength, with that bright lookout that industiy 
and honor always give a man, he was perfectly secure of ulti- 
mate success. His plans mingled in a singular manner the 
bright enthusiasm of the youthful dreamer and the eminent 
practicality of the man of atfairs. At one time, his mind was 
fixed on Mexico — not with the licentious dreams that excited 
the ragged Condottieri who followed the fated footsteps of the 
' grey-eyed man of Destiny,' in the wild hope of plunder and 
power — nor with the vague reverie in which fanatical theorists 
construct impossible Utopias on the absurd framework of 
Icarias or Phalansteries. His clear, bold, and thoroughly ex- 
ecutive mind planned a magnificent scheme of commercial 
enterprise, which, having its centre of operations at Guaymas, 
should ramify through the golden waters that stretch in silence 
and solitude along the tortuous banks of the Kio San Jose. 
This was to be the beginning and the ostensible end of the en- 
terprise. Then he dreamed of the influence of American arts 



OF THE WAR. 105 

and American energy penetrating into tlie twilight of that 
decaying nationality, and saw the natural course of events 
leading on, first, Emigration, then Protection, and at last An- 
nexation. Yet there was no thought of conquest or rapine. 
The idea was essentially American and Northern. He never 
wholly lost that dream. One day last winter, when some one 
was discussing the propriety of an amputation of the States 
that seemed thoroughly diseased, Ellsworth swept his hand 
energetically over the map of Mexico that hung upon the wall, 
and exclaimed — ' Tliere is an unanswerable argument against 
the recognition of the Southern Confederacy.' 

" But the central idea of Ellsworth's short life was the tho- 
rough reorganization of the militia of the United States. He 
was convinced that there was much of well-directed effort yet 
lacking to its entire efficiency. In fact, as he expressed it, a 
well-disciplined body of five thousand troops could land any- 
where on our coast and ravage two or three States before an 
adequate force could get into the field to oppose them. To 
reform this defective organization, he resolved to devote what- 
ever of talent or energy was his. This was a very large under- 
taking for a boy, whose majority and moustache w^ere still of 
the substance of things hoped for. But nothing that he could 
propose to himself ever seemed absurd. He attacked his work 
with his usual promptness and decision. 

" The conception of a gi-eat idea is no proof of a great mind ; 
a man's calibre is shown by the way in which he attempts to 
realize his idea. A great design, planted in a little mind, fre- 
quently bursts it, and nothing is more pitiable than the spec- 
tacle of a man staggering into insanity under a thought too 
large for him. Ellsworth chose to begin his work simply and 
practically. He did not wi'ite a memorial to the President, to 
be sent to the Secretary of War, to be referred to the Chief 
Clerk, to be handed over to File-Olerk No. 99, to be glanced 
at, and quietly thrust into a pigeon-hole labelled ' Crazy and 
trashy.' He did not haunt the ante-room of Congi-essman 
Somebody, v/ho would promise to bring his plan before the 
House, and then, bowing him out, give general ordei-s to his 
14 



106 I-NCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

footman, ' Not at home, hereafter, to that man,' He did not 
float, as some theorists do, ghastly and seedy, around the Adyta 
of popuhir editors, begging for space and countenance. He 
wisely determined to keep his theories to himself until he 
could illustrate them by living examples. He first put him- 
self in thorough training. He practised the manual of arms in 
his own room, until his dexterous precision was something 
akin to the sleight of a juggler. He investigated the theory 
of every movement in an anatomical view, and made several 
most valuable improvements on Hardee. He rearranged the 
manual, so that every movement formed the logical ground- 
work of the succeeding one. He studied the science of fence, 
so that he could hold a rapier with De Villiers, the most dash- 
ing of the Algerine swordsmen. He always had a hand as 
true as steel, and an eye like a gerfalcon. He used to amuse 
himself by shooting ventilation-holes through his window- 
panes. Standing ten paces from the window, he could fire the 
seven shots from his revolver, and not shiver the glass beyond 
the circumference of a half-dollar. I have seen a photograph 
of his arm taken at this time. The knotted coil of thews and 
sinews looks like the magnificent exaggerations of antique 
sculpture. 

" His person was strikingly prepossessing. His form, though 
slight — exactly the Napoleonic size — was very compact and 
commanding ; the head statuesquely poised, and crowned with 
a luxuriance of curling black hair ; a hazel eye, bright, though 
serene, the eye of a gentleman as well as a soldier ; a nose such 
as you see on Roman medals ; a light moustache just shading 
the lips, that were continually curving into the sunniest smiles. 
His voice, deep and musical, instantly attracted attention ; and 
his address, though not without soldierly brusqueness, was 
sincere and courteous. There was one thing his backwoods 
detractors could never forgive : he always dressed well ; and, 
sometimes, wore the military insignia presented to him by dif- 
ferent organizations. One of these, a gold circle, inscribed 
with the legend 'NoN nobis, sed pro patria,' was driven 
into his heart by the slug of the Virginian assassin. 



OFTHEWAR. 107 

" He had great tact and executive talent, was a good matlie- 
matician, possessed a fine artistic eye, sketched well and 
rapidly, and, in short, bore a deft and skilful hand in all gen- 
tlemanly exercise. 

" No one ever possessed greater power of enforcing the res- 
pect and fastening the affections of men. Strangers soon 
recognized and acknowledged this power ; while to his friends 
he always seemed like a Paladin or Cavalier of the dead days 
of romance and beauty. He was so generous and loyal, so 
stainless and brave, that Bayard himself would have been 
proud of him. The grand bead-roll of the virtues of the 
Flower of Kings contains the principles that guided his life ; 
he used to read with exquisite appreciation these lines : 

' To reverence the King as if he were 
Their conscience, and their conscience as their King, — 
To break the heathen and uphold the Christ, — 
To ride abroad redressing human wrongs, — 
To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it, — • 
To lead sweet lives in purest chastity, — 
To love one maiden only, cleave to her, 
And worship her by years of noble deeds. 
Until they won her' ; 

and the rest, — 

' high thoughts, and amiable words, 
And courtliness, and the desire of fame, 
And love of truth, and all that makes a man.' 

" Such, in person and character, was Ellsworth, when he 
organized, on the 4th day of May, 1859, the United States 
Zouave Cadets, of Chicago. 

" This company was the machine upon which he was to ex- 
periment. Disregarding all extant works upon tactics, he 
drew up a simpler system for the use of his men. Throwing 
aside the old ideas of soldierly bearing, he taught them to use 
vigor, promptness, and ease. Discarding the stiff buckram 
strut of martial tradition, he educated them to move with the 
loafing insouciance of the Indian, or the graceful ease of the 
panther. He tore off their choking collars and binding coats, 



108 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

and invented a uniform which, tliough too flashy and conspi- 
cuous for actual service, was very bright and dashing for holi- 
day occasions, and left the wearer perfectly free to fight, strike, 
kick, jump, or run, 

" He di'illed these young men for about a year, at short in- 
tervals. His discipline was very severe and rigid. Added to 
the punctilio of . the martinet was the rigor of the moralist. 
The slightest exhibition of intemperance or licentiousness was 
punished by instant degradation and expulsion. He struck 
from the rolls at one time twelve of his best men, for breaking 
the rule of total abstinence. His moral power over them was 
perfect and absolute. I believe any one of them would have 
died for him. 

" In two or three principal towns of Hlinois and Wisconsin, 
he drilled other companies : in Springfield, where he made the 
friends who best appreciated what was best in him ; and in 
Rockford, where he formed an attachment which imparted a 
coloring of tender romance to all the days of his busy life that 
remained. This tragedy would not have been perfect without 
the plaintive minor strain of Love in Death. 

" His company took the Premium Colors at the United 
States Agricultural Fair, and Ellsworth thought it was time to 
show to the people some fruit of his drill. They issued their 
soldierly dcfi and started on their Marclie de Triomphe. It is 
useless to recall to those who read newspapers, the clustering 
glories of that bloodless campaign. Hardly had they left the 
suburbs of Chicago, when the murmur of applause began. 
New York, secure in the championship of half a century, lis- 
tened with quiet metropolitan scorn to the noise of the shout- 
ing provinces ; but when the crimson phantasms marched out 
of the Park, on the evening of the 15th of July, New York, 
with metropolitan magnanimity, confessed herself utterly van- 
quished by the good thing that had come out of Nazareth. 
There was no resisting the Zouaves. As the erring Knight 
of the Round Table said : 

* men went down before his spear at a touch, 
But knowing he was Launcelot ; his great name conquered.' " 



OP THE WAR. 109 

A New York journal tlius chronicled their advent to the 
Metropolis, and their successes : " On their anival in this city 
they were received with appropriate honors, and on the day of 
their arrival, after having journeyed over one thousand miles, 
they gave an exhibition drill in the Park before the Mayor 
and Common Council, a large number of military men, and at 
least eight thousand spectators. Their evolutions were pro- 
nounced unexcelled. At that time the Zouave drill was new 
to most of us. The unique and jaunty dress of the Chicagoians, 
their quick and strange evolutions, their masterly precision and 
unanimity of drill, attracted general admiration from the pub- 
lic and won golden opinions for Colonel Ellsworth. All the 
colonels of our crack regiments attended their drills, (of which 
they gave a series in this city and Brooklyn,) and studied 
Colonel Ellsworth's manoeuvres. At the urgent solicitation of 
many of our leading civilians and military men — among the 
latter was the lamented Colonel Vosburgh — they gave an ex- 
hibition at the Academy of Music, and notwithstanding it was 
midsummer and the heat very oppressive, that colossal edifice 
was filled from parquette to ampitheatre by the elite of the city. 
On the departure of the Chicago Zouaves from this city they 
were magnificently entertained by the Second company Na- 
tional Guard, at the St. Nicholas Hotel. In reply to a senti- 
ment, complimenting his corps, Colonel Ellsworth replied, 
' that it was from witnessing the proficiency of the National 
Guard, of New York, in military movements, that induced 
him to take command of his comrades, and take them as his 
model.' After visiting Boston, Colonel Ellsworth and his 
command returned to this city, and were escorted hence to West 
Point, where they gave an exhibition drill in the presence of 
Governor Banks, Jeff. Davis and Colonel Hardee. At Boston, 
Philadelphia, "Washington and the other cities visited, Colonel 
Ellsworth and his command were received with marked favor. 
Indeed, there is not an instance in our military history where 
a military company were so hospitably received. Colonel Ells- 
worth's name will go down to posterity as the founder, in this 
country, of the popular Zouave drill. At this time there are 
K 



110 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

several thousand Zouave organizations in this section and the 
West, all dating their organization since the tour of the Chi- 
cagoians." 

This military escapade of course had seriously interrupted 
his legal studies. After the return from the East, of the Zou- 
aves, Ellsworth entered the law office of Abraham Lincoln, at 
Springfield, Illinois. But, the excitement of a warmly con- 
tested political campaign, in which he took an active and very 
popular part, sorely interfered with the prosecution of his 
studies of the law. An enthusiastic devotion to military sci- 
ence with special reference to an elaboration of his plan for a 
State and National Military organization, left little thought of 
legal lore in his mind. Conceiving the election of Mr. Lincoln 
to be assured, he gave such detailed consistency to his plan as 
to have drawn up his schedule of organization. It embraced 
— as quoted by the writer in the Atlantic Monthly from Ells- 
worth's own exquisitely neat memorandum — the following 
sections : 

" First : The gradual concentration of all business pertaining 
to the militia now conducted by the several bureaus of this 
Department 

" Second: The collection and sj^stematizing of accurate infor- 
mation of the number, arm, and condition of the militia of all 
classes of the several States, and the compilation of yearly re- 
ports of the same, for the information of this Department. 

" Third: The compilation of a report of the actual condition 
of the militia, and the working of the present systems of the 
General Government and the various States. 

*' Fourth: The publication and distribution of such informa- 
tion as is important to the militia, and the conduct of all cor- 
respondence relating tq, militia affairs. 

" Fifth : The compilation of a system of instruction for light 
troops, for distribution to the several States, including every- 
thing pertaining to the instruction of the militia in the school 
of the soldier — company and battalion, skirmishing, bayonet, 
and gymnastic drill, adapted for self-instruction. 

" Sixth : The arrangement of a system of organization, with 



OF THE WAR. Ill 

a view to tlie establisliment of a uniform system of drill, disci- 
pline, equipment, and dress, throughout the United States." 

Mr. Lincoln became strongly attached to Ellsworth — as the 
incident already related (page 100) will prove. When the jour- 
ney to Washington was arranged, he became one of the chosen 
few to form the cortege of the President-elect, On that journey 
he was the life and spirit of the party. He seemed to enter- 
tain hopes of a realization of his dreams : why should he not 
have been happy ? How little the novice in intrigue knew of 
the humiliation, mortification, self-abasement, sacrifices of per- 
sonal independence necessary to secure "an ofiice" ! How his 
soul must have shrunk from contact with the countless horde 
of " seekers" who infested Washington in March, 1861 ! If his 
pen had been asked to portray the impression which that 
scramble for ofiice made on his mind, what a loathing picture 
it would have been ! 

With the President's endorsement he applied formally for 
the position of First Clerk in the War Department — hoping, 
ultimately, to obtain a bureau organization devoted to his 
scheme of reconstruction of the military department. The 
First Clerkship, he ascertained to his astonishment and morti- 
fication, had long been bestowed upon another. Inquiry 
showed him that almost all other responsible places in the 
War Department had been allotted to political favorites. He 
withdrew, in disgust, from the scene of such bargain and sale 
of place, and would have retarned immediately to the West, 
to work out his schemes unaided, had not the President inter- 
posed, by commissioning him Second Lieutenant in the regular 
army, with the promise of detailing him to a special service. 
This opened the way for military activity, and gave promise 
of the golden opportunity for initiating his reforms. Bat here 
the jealousy of the "regulars" came* to mortify and annoy 
him. The appointment to the army of a " civilian" was bad 
enough ; but when this same " outsider" came with schemes 
of reform — bah ! he was not to be endured ! And so the 
young aspirant was put " in Coventry," and a fever followed. 

The bugle note of alarm came sounding u^ from the South 



112 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

to catcli his ear. The crisis so long threatened had come, and 
it found him prepared. His sick couch was deserted. The 
President's commission was quietly returned to the War De- 
partment, and Ellsworth was soon on his way to New York to 
enlist a regiment of men whom he knew would follow him to 
the death. The pages of this work attest how well he succeed- 
ed in his original design. In twenty days' time he ret;irned to 
the Capital with a regiment, eleven hundred strong— turbu- 
lent spirits, many of them, but all brave and heroic to the last 
degree. The writer in the Atlantic said : 

*' He divided his regiment, according to his own original 
idea, into groups of four comrades each, for the campaign. He 
exercised a personal supervision over the most important and 
the most trivial minutise of the regimental business. The 
quick sympathy of the public still followed him. He became 
the idol of the Bowery and the pet of the Avenue. Yet not 
one instant did he waste in recreation or lionizing. Indulgent 
to all others, he was merciless to himself He worked day and 
night, like an incarnation of energy. When he arrived with 
his men in Washington, he was thin, hoarse, flushed, but en- 
tirely contented and happy, because busy and useful. 

" Of the bright enthusiasm and the quenchless industry of 
the next few weeks, what need to speak ? Every day, by his 
"unceasing toil and care, by his vigor, alertness, activity, by his 
generosity, and by his relentless rigor when duty commanded, 
he grew into the hearts of his robust and manly followers, 
until every man in the regiment feared him as a Colonel 
should be feared, and loved him as a brother should be loved. 

" On the night of the twenty-third of May, he called his 
men together, and made a brief, stirring speech to them, an- 
nouncing their orders to advance on Alexandria. ' Now, boys, 
go to bed, and wake up at two o'clock for a sail and a skir- 
mish.' When the camp was silent, he began to work. He 
wrote many hours, arranging the business of the regiment. 
He finished his labor as the midnight stars were crossing the 
zenith. As he sat in his tent by the shore, it seems as if the 
mystical gales from the near eternity must have breathed for 



OF THE WATw, 113 

a moment over Ms soul, freighted witli the odor of amaranths 
and asphodels. For he wrote two strange letters : one to her 
who mourns him faithful in death ; one to his parents. There 
is nothing braver or more pathetic. "With the prophetic in- 
stinct of love, he assumed the office of consoler for the stroke 
that impended." 

The letter to his beloved, no eyes have seen but hers for whom 
they were written — eyes that never more were to look upon 
their ideal until the portals of Heaven open to reveal him as 
transfigured in the light of a world where all is peace. The 
letter to his parents, so touching and so true in its divided de- 
votion, we may quote as a fitting close to this record of one of 
the sixty thousand lives sacrificed in the struggle with con- 
spiracy and treason : 

" Head-quarters First Zouaves, Camp Lincoln, 
Washington, D. C, May 23d, 1861. 

" My Dear Father and Mother : The regiment is ordered 
to move across the river to-night. We have no means of 
knowing what reception we are to meet with. I am inclined 
to the opinion that our entrance to the city of Alexandria will 
be hotly contested, as I am just informed a large force have 
arrived there to-day. Should this happen, my dear parents, 
it may be my lot to be injured in some manner. Whatever 
may happen, cherish the consolation that I was engaged in the 
performance of a sacred duty ; and to-night, thinking over the 
probabilities of to-morrow, and the occurrences of the past, I 
am perfectly content to accept whatever my fortune may be, 
confident that He who noteth even the fall of a sparrow, will 
have some purpose even in the fate of one like me. 

" My darling and ever-loved parents, good-bye. God" bless, 
protect and care for you. ELMER" 



k2 15 



X. 



THE FIRST CAPTURE OF THE FLAG. 

The tragedy of Ellswortli gave a sad interest to the flag 
which had floated from the roof of the " Marshall House," in 
Alexandria. That flag had floated there in defiance, in full 
view of the Capital, and its insolent proprietor had sworn it 
never should come down as long as he was alive. 

Before the occupation of the place, on the morning of the 
24:th of May, by the Federal forces, an attempt to seize and bear 
away the detested emblem of rebellion and defiance had been 
made by the daring of a single man. The incident so hap- 
pily illustrates the nerve of the true " Yankee," and is, withal, 
so full of exciting interest, that we give the story at length. 

Two brothers were seen in Alexandria on the evening of 
Tuesday, May 21st. They entered their names on the " Mar- 
shall House" register, as Charles E. Fuller, of Boston, and W. 
J. A. Fuller, of New York. Of course both became " spotted" 
characters from that moment. They extended their observa- 
tions to all parts of the place, where sentinels did not bar the 
way. After a thorough exploration of the city, they dined at 
the hotel, with about fifty ofl&cers of the Secession army, and 
the elder brother took the last stage for "Washington, which he 
reached that night without any striking adventure. The 
younger brother, Charles, had tanied, to accomplish his pur- 
pose of seizing the flag which covered the house, and which 
Jackson, its proprietor, insolently told Mr. Fuller, ' no d — d 
Yankee ever would see come down !" As Mr. Fuller hailed 
from Boston, the taunt had made him resolved that a Yankee 
would not only see it down, but that he himself would be the 



OF THE WAR. 115 

very person to take it down. So it was aiTanged by the 
brothers that Charles should stay at the hotel all night, while 
W. J. went to Washington, and then pulled down the river to 
the sloop of war, Pawnee^ which lay off Alexandria, with guns 
shotted and men ready for any emergency. "With the officers 
of the Pawnee he concerted to answer his brother's signals, and 
to offer his aid when he should plunge into the river, after 
seizing the flag. 

The hotel, a large four-story building, was filled with Seces- 
sion officers and men. Mr. Fuller had a room assigned him in 
the main building, from the roof of which the flag-staff ran up 
through an open scuttle. After tea he groped his way toward 
the roof, and found the upper doors locked. He then climbed 
the nearest window, eight or ten feet above the stairway, and 
found it nailed down. He bought a hammer at a hardware 
store, went back, and drew the nails. Being a perfect gym- 
nast, and active as a cat, he expected to climb to the roof by 
the spout, but this proved rotten as paper, and compelled him 
to abandon the attempt. He next searched about the city and 
found a locksmith, whom he told that he wanted a bunch of 
keys to open a closet. The man offered to go with him and fit 
the lock, but Mr. Fuller " did not see it" in that light. He 
said he would not trouble him to go, but would take a banch 
of keys, and leave five dollars deposit for their return. 

Armed with ten keys, he returned to the hotel, watched like 
a cat for his opportunity, and, when the coast was clear, 
ascended to the upper story, and tried his keys. Six of them 
were tried unsuccessfully, and the seventh had turned the lock, 
when he was nearly surprised by a party of soldiers who came 
up the stairs. He rushed into a sort of dark closet adjoining, 
secreted himself under a mattress, and waited with breathless 
anxiety until they passed into the next room, where they soon 
became absorbed in a lively game of " poker," at five cents 
"ante;" he then went back, unlocked the door, felt his way in 
the dark to the flag-staff, tried the signal halyards, found that 
everything worked beautifully, and that he was sure, at least, 
of hauhng down the flag. He mounted to the roof, and took 



116 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

a general survey of tlie premises. This was about eiglit o'clock 
in the evening ; the streets were full of citizens and troopers, 
and the full moon shone bright as day. He was again alarmed 
bj a party of soldiers mounting the stairs, and feared that tlie 
slight lowering and raising of the flag, made when he was trying 
the halyards, had been observed from the streets. He stood be- 
hind the door, determined to jump by the first comers, and over 
the heads of those coming after, and make a run for the dock, 
some four or five blocks off, jump in and swim to tlie Pawnee. 
Hapj)ily the troops went into another room. He then went 
toward the river to alter the moorings of a small vessel, so 
that her change of position might signify to his brother, that a 
boat could approach within hail ; but was turned back by sen- 
tinels at every street approaching the river ; the whole shore 
was guarded. He then determined to go back to the hotel, 
haul down the flag, and trust to the chapter of accidents. After 
a careful reconnoissance, at about ten o'clock, when ever^^body's 
attention was engaged by the passing of three cavalry com- 
panies, he hauled down the flag, cut the halyards and made 
them fast to the elect, that they might not be observed swing- 
ing loosely. To his horror he discovered that he had caught 
an "elephant." The flag was over thirty feet long, and about 
fifteen feet wide. He took off his coat, vest, and pants, and 
commenced winding the flag about his body. To use his own 
expression, he thought he never should get it all coiled away. 
He succeeded, however, by making a sort of Daniel Lambert 
of himself Tying around him his pants and coat with a cord, 
he effectually hid the piratical emblem. Marching boldly 
down stairs, he got out of the house witho^it exciting suspicion, 
and started on his travels. Critical as was his position, with 
the river bank lined with sentries, and the picket guards ex- 
tended to Long Bridge, where he knew the draw was raised, it 
soon became perilous in the extreme, by a general alarm, 
which was given in consequence of the flag having been mis- 
sed. Patrolmen rushed in every direction to " cut off retreat" 
from the house, yet the fleet-footed Yankee only laughed at 
their pains, for he was safely beyond the square. An old shed 



OF THE WAR. 117 

offered a retreat from the excited street. Into it he crept, pro- 
posing to lie concealed until the moon should be obscured bj 
passing clouds, when he determined to push for the back 
country, make a circuit above the town, and swim across to 
Ellsworth's Zouave camp, whose fires he could plainly see. 
He saw his brother's boat (with a detachment of twelve men 
from the Massachusetts Fifth) lying off in the middle of the 
river, but dared not hail her, for fear of causing his certain 
aiTcst He managed to push from picket to picket, by wary 
advances, at one time lying flat on his back for half an-hour, 
while the guard was smoking within a few feet of him, until 
he broke cover in the open country, beyond the suburbs, when 
the moon shown out brightly, and he found himself suddenly 
confronted by two sentries. He made a inish to pass them, 
when both of them seized him. He grasped one by the breast 
and threw him to the ground with such violence that he 
wrenched off one of the Virginian army buttons, which he 
afterward wore on his watch-guard as a trophy. The other 
sentry dropped his gun and fled ; but a third soldier, a power- 
ful man, clinched him from behind, and, after a brief but fierce 
struggle, he was hopelessly a prisoner. He retained his pres- 
ence of mind, and by ready wit and fertility of invention saved 
himself from personal violence. 

His captor proved to be Jackson, who, at first indignant at 
the theft, was so pleased with the nonchalance of the Yankee 
as to be disarmed of his anger ; and he marched the pnsoner 
back to the hotel in perfect good humor. Fuller was permited 
to retire to his room on his parole not to escape. Jackson re- 
marked that he was " too smart and decent for a miserable 
Yankee." Fuller tried the power of money, but the rank 
rebel replied that " it could not be bought for $10,000" — that 
" old Lincoln had threatened to take it down, and he wanted 
to see him do it." 

After a night of anxious unrest, Mr. Fuller came down to 
breakfast, and found that everj'-body was observing him and 
pointing him out as the " d — d Yankee" who had hauled down 
the flag. He sauntered through the city, made small pur- 



118 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

chases of tobacco, &c., in the deserted stores, and went to a 
secession meeting at night. One of the speakers alluded very 
feelingly to the imperishable glory which covered the Stars 
and Stripes, and related with thrilling pathos how his father, 
a veteran of eighty years, still clung to them. At this point 
Fuller's patriotic feeling overcame his prudence ; he clapped his 
hands loudly in applause, when the whole meeting, electrified 
by the speaker, applauded to the echo. But the excitability 
of " the Yankee" caused the crowd to glower at him so fero- 
ciously that he concluded " to beat a retreat rather than be 
borne down in front or outflanked." 

The detention of Charles caused gi-eat apprehensions for his 
safety. Arranging with the officers of the Pawnee for the co- 
operation of its guns and marines in event of his (W. J.'s) de- 
tention, he pushed down to Alexandria from the Long Bridge, 
Wednesday morning. After much negotiation, and the mena- 
cing position assumed by the sloop-of-war, Charles was released 
on Thursday and given over to Commander Rowan, of the 
Pawnee. Arrangements had been thoroughly made to assault 
and burn the city, had the Fullers been detained. Several 
companies of the Massachusetts Fifth took a solemn vow that 
they would take the city, " orders or no orders," and Ells- 
worth's " boys" were " in the ring." But the orders would have 
been given. On the night of Thursday, Mr. Fuller, sure of co- 
operation by water, again tried to take the flag ; but it was 
guarded by two soldiers, sleeping in the attic, and watched in- 
cessantly by sentinels outside. So he contented himself with 
taking the flag which hung up in the hall. This he woimd 
round his person, and succeeded in bringing away with him. 

The elder brother had arranged a " seizure" of his own — 
thus to anticipate Charles and snatch the trophy from him, or 
at least to insure its certain capture as well as the capture of 
Alexandria itself ! The story runs : "VV. J. Fuller, in com- 
mand of a detachment of twelve sailors from Captain Ward- 
well's company, under Lieutenants Stoddard and Williams, 
determined to go round the Pawnee, and then pull straight to 
shore, answering any hail with — "boat from the Pawnee" 



OF THE WAR. 119 

He hnew tlie fears of the city, troops and all, that her guns 
could level the place in thu'tj minutes. He intended to take 
half his men, seize the sentries, march openly to the hotel, de- 
mand the flag, his brother, and the unconditional surrender of 
the troops and the city. But this pretty scheme was vetoed 
by the Commander. It was, of course, not in the Commander- 
in-Chief's programme of operations ; but was, nevertheless, a 
characteristic Yankee invention. 

In conceiving this assault, Mr. Fuller was but embodying 
the ideas which he enunciated at the great demonstration in 
New York city, May 20th — on which occasion he was one of 
the chosen speakers. He said, among other stirring things : 

" Let the Government forever discard its ' do little and drift 
along' policy, and give the people action, action — prompt, vig- 
orous, energetic, crushing, bloody and decisive. Let it quit 
searching musty law tomes for precedents. Make precedents. 
The idea of the Government being harnessed down by the iron 
bands of formula and delay when dealing with revolutionists, 
traitors and rebels, is criminal and absurd. Inter arnia leges 
silent. When General Jackson threatened to hang Calhoun, he 
was told by his Attorney-General that there was no law for it. 
His reply was, ' If you can't find law for me, I will appoint an 
Attorney-General who can.' If the Government wilhadopt a 
vigorous policy, the law for everything it does will be found 
in the. hearts of the people. The eyes of the people are upon 
the Government. They cannot wait its tardy action. They 
will reward energy, and will hold it to a strict accountability 
for imbecihty." 



XI. 



A NORTHERN" BREEZE FROM THE SOUTH, 

The Great Rebellion called forth many splendid efforts of 
oratorj. It is probable that no people on the face of the globe 
are more constantly associated with the sublime elements of 
country, which are supposed to influence the minds of men to 
sublime expression, than Americans ; yet, it has frequently 
been remarked by ourselves, as well as by foreigners, that 
no country produces so few truly eloquent orators. The 
experience of the past few months proves that the talent for 
eloquent expression is wide-spread, and that only the occasion 
is wanting to call it forth. The Congress of 1860-61 gave birth 
to many supurb declamations : — indeed, the entire session was 
one succession of speeches and argumentative efforts, which 
alone, would immortalize the occasion. We may point to 
them, in confidence, as a living evidence of the extraordinary 
mental resources of the American people, as the war which 
followed was an evidence of their tremendous physical 
resources. 

Our volume of "Incidents and Anecdotes" scarcely permits 
the reproduction of these oratorical efforts ; yet, some of them 
were made under such peculiar circumstances as to become 
incidents of the struggle. Such were the impassioned speeches 
made in the Virginia Convention and General Assembly by 
the Union men ; in Tennessee, by the fearless men of the hills ; 
in Kentucky, by the worthy sons of " Old Kentuck" sires. 
Few of these, however, were reported, much to the loss of our 
patriotic literature ; only sketches were placed on record, to 
outline what was, at the moment, a splendid creation. 



OF THE WAR. 121 

One made bj Mr. Rosseau — afterwards a brilliant General 
in the Union army — in the Kentucky Senate, May 21st, 1861, 
was reported. It came at a critical moment in the destiny of 
his State, when she hung in the meshes of the miserable 
" neutrality," which was nothing more nor less than an attitude 
of defiance of the General Government, by refusing to honor 
its call for troops, and arming the State to resist any occupa- 
tion of its soil by Federal troops, prosecuting the war for the 
Union. Against this attitude the Senator protested, and finally 
came out, with his splendid declamation, against the revolu- 
tion and in behalf of a hearty support of the General Govern- 
ment in its contest with treason. Our young men will find in 
the Kentuckian's words and thoughts incentives to patriotism 
and honor, and to them we sincerely commend the extracts 
which we may feel at liberty to give : 

" Mr. Speaker: Permit me to tell you, sir, what I think of 
this whole atrocious scheme of Secession. I speak for myself 
only, and am alone responsible for what I say ; and I thank 
God that I may still speak what I think on Kentucky soil. 
Yes, sir, good, brave old Kentucky, my mother, 'my own 
native land,' is still free. There is no reign of terror here. We 
still have free speech, a free press, and, as yet, we are free men. 
Kentucky is true and loyal to the Government. She still rests 
her head in peace and security upon the fond breast of her 
mother — the Union ; and there may she rest forever ! She has 
called upon her gallant sons to rally around her, and beat off 
the Vandals who would tear her away from her earliest and 
holiest associations, and bear her to certain destruction. 

" Kentucky is in a false position. I felt it from the first. 
Yet, she having assumed a neutral attitude, I felt it to be my 
duty to stand by her, and I have faithfully done so. I am 
willing still to stand by the position of Kentuck}^, if we can do 
so in peace and security. But the position is an awkward 
one, and ma}'' be more awkward yet before our difficulties are 
ended. The Union is threatened ; the Government is threat- 
ened by those who have not one well-grounded complaint to 
make against it— by those wlio have controlled its destinies for 
L 16 



122 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

years. I denounce the effort, and those who make it. I say 
it is wrong — infamous ! and, if successful, it must entail ruin 
upon us and ours. "We see the work of mischief going on, 
and quietly sit by with folded arms while it is done. 

" Kentucky has as much interest in the Union as any other 
State. She loves it as devotedly, and shares its benefits and 
blessings in common with her sister States. She owes it her 
allegiance, and her aid. Her people work for the Union ; they 
talk for it ; they pray for its preservation ; yet they stand idly 
by, and let others, who have no more interest in it than them- 
selves, defend it, and save it if they can. It is in a death 
struggle for existence, yet we have not a hand to raise in its 
defence. You say that it is the best Government that ever 
existed on earth — it has ever protected and never oppressed 
you. But we are told that this is a fratricidal war — a wicked 
war ! Well, who began it ? Who caused it ? Who attempted 
to break up the Government ? Who set the will of the people 
at defiance, and overturn the " best Government on earth ? " 
Let recently passed events, and those which are daily being 
enacted, answer. 

* * " " The truth is, our duty at first was to stand by 
our Government, and protect and defend it. If fit to live 
under, it was entitled to our respect and confidence and alle- 
giance. If uniit, it should have been abandoned at once, and 
another formed more perfect. But while we owe our alle- 
giance to it, let us acknov»dedge it like true men, and not turn 
our backs upon its greatest peril. We should not do this if 
we desire its preservation. We should stand by it like men, 
or pull it down at once. But we should not stand by and see 
others pull it down over our heads against our will to the 
destruction of our liberties, and say : 

" ' We oppose you. We love the GoTernment. It is the Government 
of our fathers ; bought with their blood, and bequeathed to us. It is 
the best Government on earth, and in its destruction we see ruin to us 
and ours ; but as you and we live in Slave States, go on and do as you 
please. We will not resist you. Ruin us if you will.' 

"And so never lift a hand to save us and our children the 



OF THE WAE. 128 

blessings of liberty. In my heart I do not approve of this 
course, and what I do not approve, no power on earth shall 
make me say. I am for the old Constitution of Washington 
and his compeers. For the old flag, the Stars and Stripes, 
God bless them ; and I am against all factions that would take 
them from me. It matters not who they are or whence they 
come. Whether they come from England, France, Massa- 
chusetts or South Carolina. If they would destroy the Gov- 
ernment of our fathers, I am against them. No matter what 
may be the pretext. No, sir, I am for the Union, and I am 
willing to defend it by any and all proper means, 

" Our Government is the best in the world. It has answered 
well all the ends for which governments are icade. We all 
know this. It has oppressed no man, nor has it burdened us 
a feather's weight. It has brought us nothing but blessings. 
Under it we have been happy, prosperous and free. What 
more can we ask ? All that Government can do, our Govern- 
ment has done for us. We have been free, as no nation was 
ever free before ; we have prospered as no nation ever prospered 
before, and we have rested in peace and security. Yet all 
this would not do. Mr. Lincoln was elected, and coiTupt poli- 
ticians lost their places. They had controlled the Government 
in their own way for years. When they lost their power, they 
declared that the Government was corrupt and oppressive, and 
that they would destroy it. They robbed it of its arms and 
munitions of war, sending them South ; they involved the 
Government in a debt of nearly a hundred millions of dollars ; 
robbed the treasury ; and thus leaving the Government im- 
poverished and distracted, they commenced the atrocious busi- 
ness of secession. They had lost the offices, and they thought 
it necessary to create new ones for the benefit of the defunct 
politicians, and they did it. This is the grand secret of the 
whole afiair. Had they retained their grip upon the offices, 
you had* never heard of secession. All our losses, all our 
troubles and suffering, are the legitimate results of secession. 
We must bear all, we must submit to all this in silence, that 
those disappointed politicians may be presidents, ministers, 



124 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

and high officials. Their day was ended by the election of 
Lincoln. They knew this, and seceded — made new offices and 
filled them ! 

" Behold the results of secession ! Distress and ruin stare 
men in the face. Strong men, honest and industrious men, 
cannot get bread for their wives and children. The widow 
and the orphan, helpless and destitute, are starving. In all 
the large cities the suffering is intense ; work is not to be 
obtained ; and those who live by their labor get no money. 
Property of every description has depreciated until it is almost 
worthless. In the Seceded States, Union men are driven 
penniless from their homes, or hanged ; and all this, that 
' peaceable secession' may go on, and that politicians may fill 
offices ! And, after you gentlemen bring all these calamities 
upon us, you falsely say that ' Lincoln did it,' and that we 
Union men are Abolitionists, and aid liim ! I tell you that 
Lincoln has not done it. lie was elected President by your 
help. You ran a candidate for the Presidency, that the Demo- 
cratic party might be divided, and Lincoln elected. That 
was your 2^urpose^ and you accomplished it ; and now you 
have elected Lincoln thus, you must break up the Govern- 
ment because he is elected ! This is your programme — deny 
it who can ! 

" South Carolina was irritated at the presence of Major 
Anderson and fifty-five men at Fort Sumter ; so irritated that 
she could not bear it. She tried to starve him to death ; she 
tried to knock his head off, and bum him up ; she bombarded 
the people's fort ; shot into ^le flag of our Government, and 
drove our soldiers from the place. It was not Mr. Lincoln's 
fort ; not his flag, nor his soldiers, but ours. Yet after all 
these outrages and atrocities, South Carolina comes with 
embraces for us, saying : ' Well, we tried ; we intended to kill 
that brother Kentuckian of yours ; tried to storm him, knock 
his brains out, and burn him up. Don't yon love us for it ? 
Won't you fight with us, and for us, and help us overthrow 
Jo^xv Government ?' Was ever a request so outrageously 
unnatural; so degrading to our patriotism? And yet, Mr. 



OF THE WAR. 125 

Speaker, there were those among us who rejoiced of the result, 
and termed the assault upon their own fort and the capture of 
their own flag and their own soldiers, a heroic victory I 

" Mr. Speaker, I am sick and tired of all this gabble about 
irritation over the exercise bj others of their undoubted right ; 
and I say once for all to you secession gentlemen, that we 
Union men know our rights ; intend to maintain them. If 
you get irritated about it, why — get irritated ! Snuff and 
snort yourselves into a rage ; go into spasms if you will ; die 
if you want to, and can't stand it — who cares ? What right 
have 3''ou to get irritated because we claim equal rights and 
equality with you ? We are for peace ; we desire no war, and 
deprecate collision. All we ask is peace. We don't intend 
3'ou any harm. We don't want to hurt you, and don't intend 
you shall injure us if we can help it. We beg of you to let us 
live in peace under the good old Government of our fathers. 
We only ask that. Why keep us ever on the alert watching 
you, to prevent you from enslaving us by a destruction of that 
Government ? 

* * ^- u Kentucky is an armed neutral, it is said. I 
submit, with others, to that position. I hope that circum- 
stances may not drive us from it. I hope that our secession 
friends will be, in fact, neutral. If we remain so, it is said we 
shall have peace. I hope so ; but the neutrality that fights 
all on one side I do not understand. Troops leave Kentucky 
in broad daylight, and our Governor sees them going to fight 
against our own Government, yet nothing is said or done to 
prevent them. Is this to be our neutrality ? If it is, I am 
utterly opposed to it. If we assume a neutral position, let us 
be neutral in fact. It is as little as we can do. 

" Our Government, constitutionally administered, is entitled 
to our support, no matter who administers it. If we will not 
support it, and yet enjoy its blessings, in Heaven's name let us 
not war against it, nor allow our people to do so. Let us be 
true to our position, whatever it may be. We are nullifying 
at any rate. Our Government has not objected to it. But 
who can look an honest man in the face, while professing 
l2 



126 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

neutrality, refusing to help his Government to preserve its 
existence, yet secretly and traitorously warring against it? 
For one, sir, I'll none of it. Away with it Let us be men — 
honest men, or pretend to be nothing but vagabonds. 

" I hear it said that Kentucky will go out of the Union ; 
that if she goes anywhere, she will go South, &c., &c. Mr. 
Speaker, let me tell you, sir, Kentucky will not ' go out' She 
will not stampede. That has been tried. Secessionists must 
invent something new in the way of secession appliances before 
they can either frighten or ' drag' Kentucky out of the Union. 
I tell you sensation gentlemen that your exciting events have 
ceased to effect us. Try something else. Get up a fight at 
Cairo, that you may get us to side with you. That is your 
game, and yx)u will play it whenever you think you can succeed 
at it You tried to scare us, but you failed in your purpose. 
And if you illegally and against right assault Cairo, I hope 
every man of you will get his head knocked or be taken 
prisoner, and that the Cairo folks will never permit you to 
come to Kentucky again. That's what I wish, and what I 
believe would happen in such an event 

"But we won't ' go out'' — have not the least notion of it in 
the world. You must take us out according to law and right, 
or take us dead. Believe this, and act accordingly. It would 
be better for all of us. "We shall be but too happy to keep 
peace, but we cannot leave the Union of our fathers. 

*' When Kentucky goes down, it will be in blood. Let that 
be understood. She will not go as other States have gone. 
Let the responsibility rest on jon, where it belongs. It is all 
3^our work, and whatever happens will be your work. We 
have more right to defend our Government than you have to 
overturn it Many of us are sworn to support it Let our 
good Union brethren of the South stand their ground. I know 
that many patriotic hearts in the Seceded States still beat 
warmly for the old Union — the old flag. The time will come 
when we shall all be together again. The politicians are 
having their day. The j^eople will yet have theirs. I have an 
abiding confidence in the 7ight, and I know that this secession 



OF THE WAR. 127 

movement is all wrong. There is, in fact, not a single substan- 
tial reason for it. If there is, I should be glad to hear it ; our 
Government has never oppressed ns with a feather's weight. 
The direst oppression alone could justify what has brought all 
our present suffering upon us. May God, in his mercy, save 
our glorious Eepublic !" 

There is in this noble address the impassioned eloquence of 
the patriot and the incorruptible citizen. In reading it the 
vision of Patrick Henry rises up before us as he appeared to 
the Virginia House of Delegates when he uttered his ever- 
memorable anathema against King George. It was such 
declarations as those which fell from Kosseau's lips — as those 
which fell from the pen of the incorruptible Joseph Holt — as 
those which the sage and patriot John J. Crittenden event- 
ually avowed — that saved Kentucky to the Union and pre- 
served her hills and vallies from becoming the battle fields of 
the horrid struggle to achieve the independence of a Slave 
Dominion. 



XII. 



GENERAL SCOTT. 

" So long as that man is true, the nation is safe," Joseph 
Holt said to a friend during the " dark days" of April. None 
knew the weight of responsibility resting upon the veteran's 
shoulders better than the ex-Secretary of War, and none better 
knew than he Scott's ability to discharge his trust. Like Mr. 
Holt, the North reposed the utmost confidence in the General- 
in-Chief, though his rapidly growing feebleness of body gave 
great anxiety lest his strength should fail ere his great work 
was done. 



128 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

At an early stage of tlie rebellion, Scott was cautiously 
approached by the emissaries of the rebellion — many of whom 
were his life-long friends and coadjutors. His sturdy loyalty 
was his protection against open proposals to desert his flag ; 
yet the enemy's anxiety to obtain either his acquiescence to 
the right of secession and his resignation from the Federal 
service, or his active co-operation in the Southern scheme for 
a Confederacy of Slave States, led them to hope, to the last, 
that he would not conduct the campaign against them. How 
fallacious that hope was events soon determined. From the 
incipient stages of the treason the old general — comprehending 
its true character, and having a clearer knowledge of it than 
the majority of men — had arranged, so far as lay in his power, 
to meet the coming storm ; and the call for troops in April, 
found him at his post in Washington, ready to assume their 
command. 

The coimtry will hardly realise the peculiar position in 
which Scott was placed. His extreme age and bodily infirmi- 
ties would have excused his retirement from service. His 
Virginia parentage, and relationship by near, and life-long 
association with leading Southern families, were powerful 
instruments to impel him to retire from a contest with these 
friends. His close personal intimacy with officers who had 
become directing military leaders in the rebel cause, made a 
campaign against them one of extreme painfalness, and might 
very naturally have impelled his soul to shrink from the 
ordeal of crushing those men and bringing their necks to the 
scaffold. 

But, as all true greatness ever rises above adverse circum- 
stances and personal considerations, so Scott's soul arose to the 
claims of his country. The very magnitude of the crisis was 
the leading motive which, undoubtedly, impelled him to retain 
his leadership — fearing that, in that hour of great peril, no 
other hand could do so well as his own. Forgetful of all 
social ties, of life-long associations, of the distasteful nature of 
the imprecations which would be heaped upon his head, of his 
bodily feebleness and need of rest, he assumed the trust wil- 



OF THE WAR. 129 

lingly, and essayed tLe lierciilean task of creating a vast army, 
and of placing it in the field ready for daty. Mind, body, heart, 
and soul were enlisted in the work: his personal comfort, 
happiness, fame — all were cast aside in that hour of duty. It 
is a sublime spectacle to contemplate : and, in the future, when 
the storj^ of the rebellion is written from the stand-point of 
history, the conduct of the man will command the admiration 
of all discriminate and dispassionate minds. 

April 19th (1861) it was announced by telegraph, to the 
South from Washington, that General Scott had resigned his 
position in the army of the United States and had tendered his 
sword to his native State, Virginia. Immense rejoicing followed. 
In Mobile, for instance, one hundred guns were fired in honor of 
his defection to the Union cause ! So generally was the report 
credited throughout the Southern States, that John J. Critten- 
den, of Kentucky, telegraphed to the General to know the 
truth. The reply was : 

" / have not changed—have no thought of changing — always a 
Union man !" 

This set at rest the calumny hatched to bolster up the 
Southern cause, and to "fire the Southern heart." When it 
was thus announced, by authority, that he was true to his flag 
and his oath, the Southern press opened its vile batteries of 
abuse and defamation of the incorruptible patriot, whom they 
had but the day before " exalted to the seventh Heaven" by 
their praise. As an evidence at once of the depravity of the 
Southern press and of the malignity of the spirit which 
animated the breasts of the rebels, we may quote a few of the 
notices made of Scott by the Secessionist journals. 

The Eichmond Examiner^ edited by John M. Daniel— Mr. 
Buchanan's Charge to one of the leading cities of Southern 
Europe — thus spoke : 

" The infamy of this man constitutes no small portion of the crush- 
ing load of shame under which Virginia is now struggling. She gave 
birth to this unnatural monster. She has heaped honors and rewards 
upon tliis war mandarin of the Abolitionists. That Scott was born in 
Virginia is a misfortune which cannot be remedied; but there are 



130 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

means by wliicli the State may brand liim with the marks of her indig- 
nant scorn. The treason of Arnold swallowed up and effaced all recol- 
lection of his long deeds of valor and patriotism, and this name was 
blotted from the list of our Revolutionary Generals. The Legislature 
of Virginia should expunge from their journals every resolution exj^res- 
sive of Virginia's confidence, respect, and admiration for this man. We 
should offer to pay him a pecuniary consideration fifty times their value, 
if necessary, for the medals and swords which we gave him, when he 
was esteemed a worthy and grateful son of the Old Dominion, and the 
now dishonored name of Scott should uo longer be borne by one of our 
counties. 

How fortunate for the old General's fame and honor that he 
did not act so as to win the applaudits of such a man as the 
writer of the above ! 

The following, from the Eichmond Whig, if more dignified, 
is yet indicative of the disappointment and hate which rankled 
in its editor's breast : 

The ancients had a saying, that no man was happy till his death. 
The hero of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane is a living illustration of this 
antique apothegm. When all the noble and chivalrous spirits of the 
Federal service were abandoning the flag which had become the badge 
of despotism, and, flying to the rescue of Liberty and their native States, 
he, oblivious of every sense of duty to his " dear old mother," remained 
with her enemies, to organize armies for her invasion and desolation. 
It is not worth while to inquire whether he was promjited by vanity, 
avarice, or ambition. He has chosen his part. He must be a parricide, 
or he must betray the cause which he has now espoused. He can never 
again put foot upon the soil that gave him birth, except as an invader 
or a traitor, with a rope around his neck. To any feeling mind would 
not death be a thousand times preferable to such a fate ? 

The New Orleans Delta was quite exercised in its peculiar 
way that any Southern man should adhere to the Stripes and 
Stars. It said : 

The three greatest villains and traitors which the present war has 
produced are, beyond all doubt. Governor Hicks, of Maryland, and 
Generals Scott and Harney. We place them in the order of their infamy. 
Hicks ranks his confederates by long odds. Scott and Harney have 
some palliation in the fact of their being mercenaries, and in their carnal 
weakness, etc., etc. 



OF THE WAR. 131 

And more of the same sort It afterwards became evident 
tliat the Deltas patriotism was of a kind the goat on the house- 
top betrayed to the lion on the street below — impudent, 
because of its own distance from danger. When General 
Butler took possession of New Orleans, the " leading journal" 
hastened to write to the Union General's acceptance. It had 
neither the spirit to close its rooms, nor the courage to sauce 
the lion then on the house-top. 

As a choice specimen of Southern use of the Billingsgate 
dictionary, we may give the following extract from the Florida 
Sentinel, of 1'allahassee — the leading journal of the Alligator 
State : 

Our indignation, contempt, and abhorrence of this plebeian dema- 
gogue [Lincoln] are only equalled by what we feel for his friend and 
adviser, the traitor to the home of his birth, " the jackass in politics, 
and Jupiter in vanity," Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott. If there be 
not " some chosen cui"se, some hidden thunder in the store of heaven," to 
blast this wretch who causes his country's ruin, the curse of uuborn mil- 
lions will danifl him to the lowest depths of human degradation. 

It is a relief to turn from these disgusting expressions of 
malice and baseness to contemplate the old general at his 
labors to avert the threatened dangers to his country. A cor- 
respondent, who was at the Capital early in June, wrote : 

" We must advert to a scene, now a daily one, in one of the 
lofty apartments of the War Office, where General Scott passes 
many hours of the day and night, at a time of life when most 
men naturally court ease, but which the old hero is now devot- 
ing to the greatest achievement of his eventful and honorable 
career, the demonstration of the strength and power of a repub- 
lican form of government 

" Enfeebled in body, but clear-minded and vigorous in intel- 
lect as ever, General Scott is now cheerfully undergoing labors 
that would overtax the strength of many far his juniors in life 
and in service. An early hour of the day finds him surrounded 
by aids and advisers, and not until a late hour of the night 
does the work cease. The bustle and din of the city and camp 
are hushed at nightfall, but not for many hours later does the 



132 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

headquarters of the Lieutenant-General lose its features of 
activity. 

" The scene on the day in question was one on which the 
pencil of a Leutze would dwell lovingly to the production of a 
painting that should be vivid history. General Scott, suffering 
more than usual by an attack of gout, lay half reclining upon 
a lounge drawn into the centre of the large apartment, his feet 
resting upon pillows. About the old chieftain, whose massive 
frame seemed more impressive from the contrast, were gathered 
men in uniform of army and navy, eminent citizens in the 
plain black civilian's dress, with here and there one whose 
dress and features told of rough service on some errand, whose 
results were now to be reported to the modification or compre- 
hensive plans of the War Department. 

" On the wall opposite the lounge, occupied by General 
Scott were suspended two large military maps of Virginia and 
Maryland, with all their careful details, closely representing 
the country, its features, accesses, fastnesses and approaches. It 
was noticeable that about Harpers FeiTy, Eichmond, and 
Norfolk, were drawn large circles, within which the details 
became more minute, with symbols and signs abundant, of 
significance to military men, the key to which belongs to the 
War Oface. 

" By General Scott's side lay a long, light reed, which he 
made use of in pointing to different localities on these maps. 
Aids, amanuenses, advisers, were all busy, quietly, and all 
without stir or confusion. In that room, and on such scenes 
and consultations hang safely the fate of this war, in the speedy 
and condign punishment of traitors. Probably no one but the 
hungrier of the Washington correspondents, will regret, or fail 
to applaud the wisdom of the War Department, or, indeed, of 
the Government as a whole, in only sparingly admitting to 
confidence the newspapers and the general pubhc. It is 
enough to know that the Government is thoroughly at work 
in all its departments for the crushing out of treason, and that 
General Scott is indeed a close and voluntary ' prisoner' to 



OF THE WAR. 133 

duties whose execution will make the setting sun of the old 
hero illustrious in all time." 

The gratification felt by all classes at the General's devotion 
to duty was expressed in the address of leading citizens of 
Philadelphia — including a number of those who had opposed 
the coercion of the South up to a late hour. This document, 
so honorable to both recipient and the signers, read : 

" Philadelphia, April 30th, 1861. 
"To Lieutenant- General Winjield Scott, General-in-Chief of the 
Army of the United States : 

" Sir : The shock of a civil war in our beloved country, 
whose history, for more than half a century, has been illus- 
trated, not less by your wisdom and patriotism than the splen- 
dor of your achievements in arms, will, we trust, justify this 
letter to you, even though it be a departure from usage. 

" We are your fellow-citizens of the United States. We 
are devotedly attached to our country. Her renown is precious 
to us. It is our richest inheritance ; and we had fondly hoped 
to transmit it to our children untarnished, as it came to us from 
our fathers. 

" In the civil strife which has just lighted up our land with 
an unnatural and deadly glare, we do not stop to inquire into 
the soundness of conflicting opinions as to the origin of the 
deplorable controversy. It is enough for us to know that the 
beloved and glorious flag of our Federal Union has been 
assailed, and we ask no further questions. In such a crisis, 
we are for sustaining, to any and every extent, the constituted 
authorities of the Union, believing, in the language of Mr. 
Jefferson, that ' the preservation of the General Government, in 
its whole constitutional vigor, is the sheet-anchor of our peace at 
home and safety abroad.^ While the Government stands by the 
flag, we stand by the Government. In this determination we 
obliterate, for the time being, all traces of party difference by 
which many of us have been heretofore widely separated. 

" The citizens of Philadelphia — a city which, we are sure, 
must be endeared to your recollections, as it is to ours, by 
seme of the proudest memories of the era of Independence — 
M 



184 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

where the Declaration was signed — where the Constitution was 
signed, and from whence our iUustrious founder issued to his 
countrymen his immortal farewell address — we adopt this 
mode of testifying our admiration, and offering you our deep- 
felt thanks for your great services to your country, in this hour 
of her extremest peril — services which will rival in immor- 
tality, and, we trust, in their triumphant results, your early 
and subsequent renown in the second and third great wars of 
the United States. 

" At a time like this, when Americans, distinguished by the 
favor of their country, intrenched in power, and otherwise high 
in influence and station, civil and military, are renouncing 
their allegiance to the flag they have sworn to support, it is an 
inexpressible source of consolation and pride to us to know 
that the General-in-chief of the army remains like an impreg- 
nable fortress at the post of duty and glory, and that he will 
continue to the last to uphold that flag, and defend it, if neces- 
sary, with his sword, even if his native State should assail it. 

" That your career of rare distinction may be prolonged for 
many years of continued usefulness to your country, and hap- 
piness to yourself, and that you may live to see that great 
country once more in the enjoyment of the prosperity and 
renown among nations, to which your wisdom in council and 
your sword in battle have so largely contributed, is the anxious, 
earnest hope of those who here unite in tendering to you, not 
only the assurances of their profound respect, but what we 
believe you will value as highly, the spontaneous tribute of 
loyal American hearts." 

This admirable address was prepared by the eminent coun- 
sellor, Horace Binney. It was signed by more than two hun- 
dred names of those whose endorsement it was an honor to 
win. The address was only one of several offered to the 
old hero. 

A sketch of the life of the " hero of an hundred battles" will 
find admiring readers ; and we here append one prepared by a 
leading journalist immediately after his retirement from the 
service, November 1st, when all was well for the Union cause. 



OF THE WAK. 135 

Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott is a native of Yirginia, 
having been bom in Petersburg on the IStli of June, 1786. 
He is of Scottish descent, and it would appear, from the records 
of his family, that his great military abilities were inherited, 
the name being a celebrated one in the military annals of 
Scotland. At the battle of Culloden, in 1746, so disastrous to 
the last hopes of the Stuarts, his gi-andfather played a conspicu- 
ous part, and his grand uncle was left among the slain in that 
sanguinary struggle for the British crown. It may, however, 
be safely stated that none of his family ever rose to such dis- 
tinction in the pursuit of arms. Ilis ancestors having been 
ardent supporters of the unfortunate Stuarts, the defeat of the 
Pretender at the battle of Culloden led to their involuntary 
exile, as well as that of their royal leader. 

The Scott family, on their arrival in the then British colo- 
nies, settled down in Virginia, where, as we have already 
stated, the future general of the American Eepublic was born. 
His preparatory education having been completed, he entered 
William and Mary College, where he devoted a couple of years 
to the study of the higher branches. On leaving college he 
entered the profession of the law, and at the age of twenty was 
admitted to the bar. As Charleston, South Carolina, appeared 
to the mind of the young lawyer to present a more fruitful 
field for the successful practice of his profession, he proceeded 
to that city in the autumn of 1807. Here, however, he was 
not as successful as he desired, and, having satisfied himself 
that fortune and fame were slow to reward him in this pursuit, 
he determined to leave Charleston and return to the North. 
It may, in fact, >vell be doubted, from his subsequent career, 
whether the inclinations of young Scott qualified him for the 
peculiar duties and labors of the legal profession. His mind 
was naturally adapted to a more active and vigorous life — a 
life made up of the dangers and perils of the battle-field — a 
life in camp and field — in which only the sterner qualities of 
the soldier could hope to achieve success. 

Accordingly he entered the army, and, although Ins first 
experience of military life was rather discouraging, still he was 



136 INCIDEKTS AND ANECDOTES 

determined to persevere in tlie new career which he had chosen. 
It appears that in 1809 the conduct of his superior officer — 
General "Wilkinson — led him to indulge in some expressions 
which, though just, betrayed a want of discretion, which, viewed 
with leniency, might be regarded as pardonable in one who 
had just entered the array. The rigidity of military discipline 
is a stranger to the milder virtue of clemency, and after a trial 
by court martial, sentence of suspension from pay and service 
for twelve months was pronounced upon the offender. To a 
man not wedded to the profession of arms this would have 
proved a discouragement too great to be borne ; but Scott had 
made his final resolution, and was determined to persevere 
despite of all obstacles. 

The twelve months for which he was suspended were 
devoted to unremitting study of military service, so that on 
the proclamation of war in 1812, between the United States 
and Great Britain, there was none better qualified to lead his 
countrymen against the enemy. He was at this time pro- 
moted to the position of Lieutenant-Colonel of artillery, and 
he acquired the reputation of being one of the best officers in 
that important department of the army. 

At the battle of Queenstown Heights his intrepidity and 
skill as a commanding ofiicer were for the first time brought 
out in a most conspicuous and creditable manner. The 
engagement was one of the most desperate recorded in the 
annals of American warfare, and, although it ended in the 
defeat of the American forces, the victory of the enemj^ was 
dearly purchased. Scott, with his surviving comrades, was 
captured and sent to Quebec ; but he was soon afterwards 
liberated, by an exchange of prisoners. In this battle his per- 
sonal daring and lofty stature rendered him a prominent mark 
for the Indian sharpshooters, who, as in the instance recorded 
in the life of Washington, exerted their skill to the utmost, 
but without success, to bring him down. Failing in open, 
manly conflict to destroy their fearless and intrepid foe, they 
had recourse to Indian cunning and treachery to carry out 
their fell design. Gaining access to his prison, two of them 



OF THE WAR. 137 

rasTied upon him, but were foiled by tlie superior agility and 
strengtli of Scott, as well as by the fortunate interposition of 
Captain Coffin, of the British army, to whose timely presence 
in the hour of danger his escape from his savago enemies was 
partly attributable. 

The bravery of Scott was recognized in a substantial man- 
ner, after his release, by his promotion to the position of Adju- 
tant-General and chief of the staff under General Dearborn, 
who at that time was commanding on the Northern frontier. 
The justice of this promotion was made manifest by his con- 
duct on the capture of Fort George, at which he was severely 
wounded by a splinter, after performing prodigies of valor. 
At the battle of Chippewa, the credit of which the commanding 
oflicer generously acknowledged was due to Scott, he added 
another brilliant page to the history of his country, and ano- 
ther leaf to the chaplet which was one day to adorn his brow. 
We would not be doing justice to his gallant conduct did we 
fail to notice an incident which occurred during that battle, 
and which affords a Bappy illustration of the indomitable 
character of the man. As the two armies approached to close 
quarters, Scott called aloud to McNeil's battalion, " The enemy 
say we are good at long shot, but cannot stand the cold iron. 
I call upon the Eleventh instantly to give the lie to that slan- 
der. Charge !" And, responding with an exultant hurra, 
they did charge, and with a vengeance. Sweeping upon the 
enemy with the force of a mountain torrent swollen by autumn 
floods, they drove them from the field, and that, too, with 
their own favorite weapon, before which it had been the boast 
of the British, no foe was ever able to stand. These, too, were 
a portion of that world-renowned army of veterans with which 
British generals had expelled the French from Spain, and who, 
it was vauntingly said, would drive the American forces from 
one end of the country to the other. The victory was accom- 
plished before the American commander. General Brown, 
could engage the enemy with his division. In his report he 
spoke as follows of the heroism of the yoathful General : 

m2 18 • 



138 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" Brigadier-General Scott is entitled to the highest praise our 
country can bestow. His brigade covered itself with glory." 

But it was at Niagara, July 28th, 1814, that he even sur- 
passed himself. Here he was twice wounded, once by a bullet 
through the shoulder, and the second time by a spent ball. 
Placing himself at the head of his men, he cheered them on to 
the attack, and although the British had the advantage in the 
strength of their position, they gave way before the terrible 
charge of the Americans and fled in confusion, leaving Scott, 
who was the first man to enter, in possession of the fort. The 
victorious commander hauled down the British colors with his 
own hands and amid the cheers of his brave troops. 

These constant successes attracted to him the eyes of the 
whole country, who regarded with the most enthusiastic admi- 
ration the brilliant career of the young officer — for he had not 
yet quite attained his twenty-seventh year. On the 9th of 
March, 1814, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-Gene- 
ral, with the hearty approval of all classes of his countrymen. 
For his services at Chippewa and Nitrgara — commonly called 
Lundy's Lane — he received the rank of Major- General. This 
was not all. The gratitude of the country could not be easily 
exhausted, in view of the great services which he had ren- 
dered, and the glory he had reflected on the flag. November 
3d, 1814, the National Legislature passed a resolution award- 
ing him a gold medal " in testimony of the high sense enter- 
tained by Congress of his distinguished services in the succes- 
sive conflicts of Chippewa and Niagara, and of his uniform 
gallantry and good conduct in sustaining the high reputation 
of the arms of the United States." 

When peace was proclaimed the position of Secretary of 
"War was tendered General Scott, in the Cabinet of President 
Madison, but the offer was declined, as the General was still 
suffering from his wounds. He visited Europe soon after for 
the restoration of his health, having also been entrusted with 
an important diplomatic mission by the Government, which 
was so successfully discharged as to elicit a letter of thanks 
from the Secretary of State in the name of the President. 



OF THE WAR. 139 

In his career thus far we have seen him only as the brave 
and successful General ; but we are now to view him in ano- 
ther aspect — one in which the finer qualities of his nature 
were brought out, if possible, in a still stronger light. The 
truly brave are always humane ; and never was bravery so 
blended with humanity as in the conduct of Scott while on his 
way with his forces to put down Black Hawk and his savage 
tribes. On his passage from Buffalo to Chicago, with about a 
thousand troops, in the summer of 1832, the cholera broke out 
among his men with such terrible violence that on one vessel, 
on board of which there were two hundred and twenty, no 
less than one hundred and thirty cases of cholera and fifty-one 
deaths occurred in six days. On his arrival at the Mississippi 
river from Chicago, the same fearful pestilence made its 
appearance, making dreadful ravages among the troops. No- 
thing could exceed the kindness and delicate care with which 
he attended to the poor sufferers, fearlessly exposing himself 
to the contagion in his all-absorbing desire to alleviate the 
misery and suffering by which he was surrounded. 

The Black Hawk war having been successfully terminated, 
General Scott and Governor Reynolds were aj)pointed Com- 
missioners to treat with the Nortliwestern Indians, in reference 
to all pending difficulties. It is sufficient to say that this task, 
which displayed the qualities of a statesman in no ordinary 
degree, was as successfully discharged as the others with which 
he had been entrusted. The Indians ceded the title to more 
than ten millions of acres, forming the gi'eater part of the 
present States of Iowa and Michigan. In the same year (1832), 
by his prudence and firmness in South Carolina, which then 
threatened the country with all the evils of civil war, by her 
nullification principles, he saved the country from rebellion 
and its attendant horrors. 

Next followed the Florida war, where he added new laurels 
to his already historic fame ; his successful mission to the 
Canadian frontier, which was greatly excited by the burning 
of the Caroline ; the removal of the Cherokees, which displayed 
liis energy and humanity in a remarkable degree. In 1839, 



140 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

bj liis judicious course on the Northeastern boundary diffi- 
culty, he avoided a war with England, which at the time was 
regarded as inevitable. 

But the crowning success of all these glorious achievements 
was his campaign in Mexico, which, in the brilliancy of its 
successes, the rapidity of its marches, and its results, will bear 
comparison with those of any other campaign of ancient or 
modern times. On the 10th of March, 1817, he arrived before 
Yera Cruz, and, on the 14th of September of the same year, 
having stormed the " impregnable castle" of San Juan d'Ulloa, 
and fought the battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, San Antonio, 
Cherub usco, Molino del Rey, Chepul tepee, besides lesser 
battles, and taken several cities, he entered the City of Mexico 
at the head of six thousand men. 

Had his advice and directions been followed, before the 
unfortunate battle of Bull Run — which the veteran rightly 
styled a Congressional battle — the backbone of the Southern 
rebellion would have been broken ere this. But, unfortu- 
nately, the cry of " On to Riclimond" drowned the prudent 
advice of the General, whose counsel would have saved the 
nation from a humiliating defeat. 

As a commander, Scott had but few equals among his con- 
temporaries, and even his enemies bear willing testimony to 
his great military genius. One of the British Generals who 
was opposed to him in 1812, speaking of his qualities in the 
freedom of conversation, expressed the most unqualified admi- 
ration of his genius and skill as a commander. In the opinion 
of many he was not second to Wellington himself, and there 
is certainly no campaign in the career of that great General 
which can be said to surpass, if it equals, Scott's campaign in 
Mexico. He was the only American General, with the excep- 
tion of Washington, who received the title of Lieutenant- 
General, and this was conferred upon him as the highest testi- 
monial which could be bestowed by a grateful country. 

His retirement from the high position which he has occupied 
so many years, with honor and distinction to himself and 
advantage to the interests of the nation, was an event well cal- 



OF THE WAR. 141 

dilated to arrest attention at home and abroad, for it may be 
said with truth, that the principal events in the last fifty years 
of his life would, to a great extent, embrace the most promi- 
nent and important facts in the history of the countrj^ Al- 
though he has never been honored with the highest office in 
the gift of the people, no man has occupied a more distin- 
guished and exalted position, and none of his contemporaries 
will fill a larger space in the future annals of the Great Eepub- 
lic. His withdrawal from the active duties of official life, and 
his generous resignation of his command into the hands of a 
General so much his junior, indicate a self-abnegation which 
proves the truth of the time -honored adage, that he only who 
can command himself is truly qualified to govern others. 



XIII. 



McCLELLANS FIRST CAMPAIGN. 

The appointment of Captain McClellan to the responsible 
position of Major-General of the Volunteers of the State of 
Oliio (April 24th, 1861), was soon followed by the General 
Government's creation of the "Department of the "West," over 
which he was placed in superior command. It comprised the 
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Western Pennsylvania, and 
Western Yirginia, 

The proposed assemblage (June 14th) of the Wheeling Con- 
vention, for re-organizing the State of Yirginia as a State of 
the Union, rendered it necessary to arrange a campaign in 
Western "Virginia, both to expel the rebel armies from that 
section, and to give stability to the new State Government. 



142 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

The promulgation by McClellan (May 26tTi) of the following 
proclamation announced the movements on foot : 

" HeAD-QXTAETERS, DEPARTMEJfT OP OhIO, ) 

Cincinnati, May 26tb, 1861. ) 

*' To the Union Men of Western Virginia : 

" Virginians : — The General Government has long enough endured 
the niachinations of a few factious rebels in your midst. Armed traitora 
have in vain endeavored to deter you from expressing your loyalty at 
the polls. Having failed in this infamous attempt to deprive you of the 
exercise of your dearest rights, they now seek to inaugurate a reign of 
terror, and thus force you to yield to their schemes, and submit to the 
yoke of the traitorous conspiracy, dignified by the name of the Southern 
Confederacy. They are destroying the property of citizens of your State, 
and ruining your magnificent railways. The General Government has 
heretofore carefully abstained from sending troops across the Ohio, or 
even from posting them along its banks, although frequently urged by 
many of your prominent citizens to do so. 

" It determined to await the result of the State election, desirous that 
no one might be able to say, that the slightest eflFort had beea made 
from this side to influence the free expression of your opinions, although 
the many agencies brought to bear upon you by the rebels were well 
known. You have now shown, under the most adverse circumstances, 
that the great mass of the people of Western Virginia are true and loyal 
to that beneficent Government under which we and our fathers have 
lived so long. As soon as the result of the election was known, the 
traitors commenced their work of destruction. The General Govern- 
ment can not close its ears to the demand you have made for assistance. 
I have ordered troops to cross the river. They come as your friends 
and brothers ; as enemies only to armed rebels who are j^reying upon 
you. Your homes, your families, and your property are safe under our 
protection. All your rights shall be religiously respected. 

" Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce 
you to believe our advent among you will be signalized by an interfer- 
ence with your slaves, understand one thing clearly : Not only will Ave 
abstain from all such interference, but we will, on the contrary, with an 
iron hand, crush any attempt at insurrection on their part. 

" Now that we are in your midst, I call upon you to fly to arms and 
support the General Government ; sever the connection that binds you 
to traitors ; proclaim to the world that the faith and loyalty so long 
boasted by the Old Dominion are still preserved in Western Virginia, 
and that you remain true to the Stars and Stripes. 

" G. B. McCLELLAN, Major-General Commanding." 



OP THE WAR. 143 

This document gave the proper reasons for the contemphited 
movement To his troops, then cantoned in Eastern Ohio, he 
addressed a stirring address, well calculated to win the confi- 
dence of the people among whom they were to move. It 
read : 

" Soldiers : — You are ordered to cross the frontier, and to enter ou 
the soil of Virginia. Your mission is to restore peace and confidence ; 
to protect the majesty of the law, and to secure our brethren from the 
grasp of armed traitors. I place under the safeguard of your honor the 
persons and property of the Virginians. I know you will respect their 
feelings and all their rights, and will j^reserve the strictest discipline. 

" Remember, that each one of you holds in his keei^ing the lionor of 
Ohio and the Union. If you are called to overcome armed opposition, 
I know your courage is equal to the task. Remember that your only 
foei are armed traitors. Show mercy even to them, when in your power, 
for many of them are misguided. 

" When, under your protection, the loyal men of Western Virginia 
have been enabled to organize and form until they can protect them- 
selves, you can return to your homes, with the proud satisfaction of 
having preserved a gallant people from destruction." 

Prior to the issue of these documents, everything had been 
arranged for the advance. Colonel Kelly, in command at 
Camp Carlisle, in Ohio, opposite Wheeling, gave the word of 
command for "the onward movement, Sunday evening, (May 
26th), by reading tlie Proclamation and Address. 

The announcement was received with wild huzzas by the 
troops, the First Virginia Volunteers. Monday morning they 
poured over into Virginia eleven hundred strong, and, at seven 
o'clock, were en route for Grafton, a place of some strategic 
importance, lying at the junction of the Baltimore and Ohio 
and the Northwestern Virginia railways. The First Virginia 
was followed immediately by the Sixteenth Ohio Volunteers, 
Colonel Irvine. The Fourteenth Ohio, Colonel Steadman, 
crossed the river at Marietta, and occupied Parkersburg, the 
western terminus of the Northwestern railroad. 

The rebels, then in possession of Grafton, designed a descent 
on Wheeling ; but, hastily evacuated on the night of Mon- 
day, having previously destroyed railway bridges at various 



144: INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

points to the west of Grafton. The Federal forces did not fully 
occupy the place until Thursday morning, when the two regi- 
ments, with all their baggage and trains, took possession. The 
rebels withdrew to Phillippi, where they resolved to make a 
stand. The Federal advance was soon joined by the Fifteenth 
Ohio, and the Sixth Indiana, Colonel Crittenden, regiments, 
the Seventh Indiana, Colonel Dumont, while the forces landed 
at Parkersburg had pushed up the railroad to a conjunction. 
The attack on Phillippi was not delayed — McClellan having 
ordered the enemy to be surprised by a forced march. On 
the night of June 2d, the Federal forces (four regiments) 
started for the point of attack by two routes — one division by 
way of Webster, under command of Colonel Dumont, con- 
sisted of eight companies of the Seventh Indiana ; four com- 
panies of the Fourth Ohio, Colonel Steadman, with his artiller}'-, 
under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sturgis, assisted and 
directed by Colonel Lander ; four companies of the Sixth 
Indiana, Colonel Crittenden. The other division consisted of 
the First Virginia, and companies from the Sixteenth Oliio and 
Seventh Indiana regiments, under command of Colonel Kelly, 
which moved east, by way of Thornton, thence south to Phil- 
lippi (twenty-two miles) by a forced march. The darkness was 
intense, the mud deep, and the storm of wind and rain unceas- 
ing. The division of Kelly did not reach the enemy's position 
at four o'clock — the time indicated for the conjunction and 
combined attack — owinsr to the dreadful fatisrues of the march. 
His forces were to strike the enemy's rear, and while Colonels 
Dumont and Lander pressed the front, to cut off the retreat, 
and thus " bag" the entire rebel force. Dumont aiTived at the 
appointed time, and disposed his forces for battle. It soon 
became evident that the rebels had discovered the movements 
of their foe, and were preparing to run. Lander not deeming 
it prudent longer to await Colonel Kelly's appearance, ordered 
the artillery to open. The Associate Press account of the 
fight read : 

Simultaneously with the roar of the first gun. Colonel Kelly, 
at the head of his command, came in sight across the river 



OF THE WAR. 145 

belo"W the camp, and, comprehending the position of affairs, he 
rushed forward in the direction of the camp. Meanwhile the 
battery, having got accurate range, played upon the camp with 
marked effect, tearing through the tents and houses at a fearful 
rate. This the chivalry could not stand, and they scattered 
like rats from a burning barn, after firing at random a volley 
which did no damage. 

Colonel Kelly's command was close after them, and, at the 
same time. Colonel Lander's force came rushing down the hill 
yelling like Indians. After chasing them a few miles, the 
already exhausted men returned to the evacuated camp, to 
learn the painful fact that their victory, though complete, was 
dearly bought. Colonel Kelly, who, with bravery amounting 
to rashness, was foremost from first to last, was rallying his 
men in the upper part of the town, the enemy having all 
apparently fled, when he fell by a shot from a concealed foe. 
The assassin was an Assistant- Quartermaster in the Confederate 
force, named Sims. He was immediately seized. 

A correspondent who was present thus referred to Colonel 
Lander's ride down the hill on which the artillery was posted, 
and his subsequent achievement : 

" The hill on which the artillery was planted is both high 
and steep, and it would be dangerous for an inexperienced 
rider to walk a horse down the slope toward the pike. Seeing 
Dumont's right rushing for the bridge, closely followed by the 
Ohio Fourteenth, (Colonel Steadman,) and supposing the pas- 
sage of the bridge would be disputed, he grasped a revolver 
in each hand, plunged spurs into the flanks of his horse, and 
dashed down the hill, over fences, and stumps, and stones, and 
dead timber, through a wheat field, to the pike, and swept 
past the column like the wind, looking (as one who saw him 
says) more like a demon than a man. Colonel Steadman, in 
the excitement of the moment, had advanced some three hun- 
dred yards ahead of his command as Lander passed. ' Go 
back, Colonel Steadman — go back to your column,' said he, 
' or you will be cut off !' forgetting that he was exposed to the 
same danger. 

M 19 



146 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" Bj this time Colonel Kelly had arrived and attacked the 
rear of the rebels. Colonel Lander now rode alone across the 
town to join Kelly, but just after he had passed Kelly, a 
rebel brought Kelly down by a shot through the lungs. 
Lander at once charged among the enemy and chased the rebel 
into an angle of a fence, where he guarded him until the 
infantry came up. An unsuccessful charge was made by a 
few of the rebels to rescue the prisoner. On Kelly's men 
arriving they were determined to bayonet the prisoner, but 
were j)revented by Colonel Lander, against their urgent remon- 
strances. The Quartermaster of the Virginia regiment took 
charge of him, becoming responsible for his safety. Colonel 
Lander maintained that the man had thrown down his arms 
and yielded himself to him as a prisoner of war ; that if he 
had killed Kelly he would have done it in actual fight, and 
after our troops had commenced the engagement, and that he 
should protect him with his life." 

The enemy retreated, with a loss of all his baggage, tents, 
&c., to Beverly, finally taking np position on Laurel Hill, 
which he proceeded to fortify. The campaign which followed 
was thus chronicled by one who participated in it : 

" The rebel forces, after the battle of Philippi, lay at Laurel 
Hill, near Beverly, in a strong position, which commanded 
our road to the southern portion of the State, and in which 
they had fortified themselves with gi'cat labor and care. From 
this point they had repeatedly threatened us with attack, and 
our officers felt very eager to repeat the action by which the 
campaign had been so successfully opened at Philippi. A 
plan was foi-med, therefore, to move down from our head- 
quarters at Grafton and capture or destroy the enemy. The 
fortifications at Laurel Hill had, however, greatly strengthened 
a position of the most advantageous kind, and the attack was 
not to be lightly undertaken. 

" On the side of the Laurel Mountain lies a fine, broad and 
cleared plateau, which afforded ample room for an encamp- 
ment and a parade-gi'ound in the rear. The slopes in front 
down to the valley were fortified with a more extended system 



OF THE WAR. 147 

of intrencliments, whicli our men are now engaged in destroy- 
ing, and which were so complete as almost to defy a direct 
attack by any force at our command. It was resolved, there- 
fore, to combine with the direct assault a movement in the 
enemy's rear, for which the shape of the country afforded pecu- 
liar facilities. Stretching away, north-east and south-west, lay 
the western range of the Alleghanies, impassable without great 
difhculty for an army, and even then passable only at certain 
points. At the foot of the mountain was the main road, which 
gives access to Southern Virginia on this western slope of the 
range. By this route alone could the enemy receive reen- 
forcements or supplies, and this fact determined the scheme of 
operations. To occupy his attention by a direct attack in 
front, while another body of our forces should go around into 
his rear,- and cut off communication with his base, would place 
him at our mercy, and enable us to assail him in his intrench- 
ments with an overpowering force, and in both directions at 
once, or else to starve him oat, should it be deemed best not 
to conclude the affair by a direct engagement 

" The plan thus formed was executed by the two divisions 
of General McClellan's army. The main body of ten thou- 
sand, led by himself, went round by Clarksburg and Buck- 
hannon, on the west of the enemy ; while the other and smaller 
division of four thousand, under General Morris, made the 
direct attack, which was to hold the rebels in check on the 
north, and occupy them while the former force should be get- 
ting into their rear. 

" General McClellan, after a sharp skirmish at Buckhannon, 
approached the rear of the enemy, which, however, he found 
strongly fortified at Rich Mountain, and defended by a force 
of some two or three thousand under Colonel Pegram. Send- 
ing General Rosecrans with a force of some three thousand to 
assail them in the rear, while he was himself to attack them in 
front, he hoped to capture the enemy entirely ; but some want 
of co-operation took place, which interfered with the complete- 
ness of the result. General Rosecrans reached the rear of the 
mountains, which was held by some three hundred rebels, 



148 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

but did not succeed in communicating to General McClellan 
the information that lie was ready to attack, and the command 
of McClellan lay inactive for many hours, waiting for this 
intelligence. Hence, though the attack of Rosecrans was 
entirely successful upon the small force before him. Colonel 
Pegram took the alarm, and silently moved off with his main 
body to join Garnett at Laurel Hill. He found it impossible, 
however, to do so, and after lying in the woods for two days, 
utterly destitute of provisions, was obliged to surrender with 
all those of his troops who had not succeeded in getting away. 
This successful move captured or killed about one thousand or 
perhaps twelve hundred rebels. 

" Meanwhile, the division of General Morris was cautiously 
making its way down upon the enemy from Grafton and Phi- 
lippi. The command of the advance brigade was given by 
General Morris to his chief engineer officer, Captain Benham, 
of the United States Topographical Engineers, an officer of 
great experience and skill, whose judgment had before been 
tested by the conduct of several difficult operations. Captain 
Benham had thoroughly explored and mapped the country, 
and his accurate delineations of the topogi-aphy had given 
essential aid in the planning of the expedition. When General 
McClellan's order was received to march upon Laurel Hill, 
Captain Benham arranged the plan of the march, and started 
at two A. M. on the 7th of July. By skillfully avaihng him- 
self of the peculiarities of the country, he avoided the neces- 
sity of thrice fording a stream, as had been supposed necessary 
by the commanding General, in order to avoid defiles where 
effective resistance might be offered ; and thus brought the 
army to its designated position some two hours earlier than 
would have been possible otherwise, to the complete surprise 
of the enemy. Here a position was chosen at Beelington, on 
the opposite side of the valley from Laurel Hill, and within 
rifle-shot of the enemy's intrenchments ; and, notwithstanding 
repeated attacks and skirmishes with the enemy, it was success- 
fully fortified and held till the approach of the other column. 

" Upon the overthrow of Colonel Pegram at Rich Moun- 



OF THE WAR. 149 

tain, General Garnett, the rebel commander, began to under- 
stand, the extent of his danger, and made haste to extricate 
himself from a position in which he could no longer fight with 
advantage, nor even retreat with success. He left his intrench- 
ments, and moved at once south toward Beverly, hoping, bj 
great expedition, to reach that place before General McClellan 
should arrive. But by the time he had got within a few miles 
of it the fugitives from PegTam's corps informed him that the 
effort was hopeless. Beverly was occupied in force by the 
Union troops. His only remaining resource was to turn upon 
his steps, and retrace his path to Leedsville, where another 
turnpike road branched off to the north-east, on the other side 
of Laurel Mountain. Pursuing this route with all speed, he 
passed Leedsville the same afternoon, and pressed on along the 
base of the mountains down the Cheat River, hoping to find 
some ]3racticable path across the mountains into the valley of 
Virginia. Throwing away, therefore, all superfluous baggage, 
he fled rapidly, and soon turned off from the main road into 
a narrow path along the mountains, in which pursuit might be 
more easily obstructed. Here he closed the nan-ow path after 
him, and filled every defile through which he passed, by fell- 
ing the largest trees into and across it 

" His flight, however, which took place on Thursday even- 
ing, was ascertained on Friday morning by some of our men 
at Laurel Hill ; and, on word being sent to General Morris, he 
gave immediate orders for pursuit, though his force was greatly 
inferior to that of the enemy. Following with the somewhat 
larger portion himself, he sent Captain Benham forward with 
the advance division, giving him orders to press forward after 
the rebels as far as Leedsville, secure the ford at that place, 
and await his arrival. Captain Benham set out instantly, at 
first with caution, for it might be only a feint to draw us on 
into an attack ; but, on reaching the intrenchments, they were 
found entirely deserted, and the Captain had the pleasure to 
be the first officer within the abandoned works. The com- 
mand pressed on to Leedsville and there halted, according to 
orders. This order to halt was unfortunate; had Captain 
n2 



150 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Benham been authorized to advance further, a more effectual 
pursuit might have been made ; but, held back bj positive 
directions, he was compelled to wait — his men vmder arms and 
readj to resume the pursuit — till General Morris arrived at ten 
P. M. It was then too late to move till morning ; the men 
must have some rest ; and they were allowed a brief slumber 
of three liours, from eleven in the evening till two A. M., when 
the pursuit was eagerly resumed. 

" The pursuit was a memorable one. Captain Benham led, 
with one thousand eight hundred men, composed of Ohio and 
Indiana troops. General Morris followed with the rear. Up 
and down the mountains, through defiles, and over rugged 
ridges, everywhere impeded by the obstructions thrown in the 
way by the flying enemy — the pursuit was pressed with an 
ardor which was not to be repressed. Many men fell behind, 
exhausted with hunger and exertioL. 

" At length, after crossing one of the branches of Cheat 
Eiver, we saw before us the provision -train of the rebels at rest ; 
but a foolish boy firing his musket set it in motion again in 
full retreat, and brought out two heavy regiments to protect it, 
before our first regiment could reach the ford. This caused a 
further pursuit of three or four miles, when the train was again 
overtaken half across the stream ; and here General Garnett 
made a vigorous stand for its defense. 

" The locality afforded a fine position to repel our assault 
Cheat River, in one of its numerous bends, winds here round a 
bluff of fifty or sixty feet high, the lower portion of which is 
covered with a dense growth of laurel, through which it is 
almost impossible to penetrate. On the top of this bluff he 
placed his cannon, which swept our approach to the ford ; 
while his troops were drawn up in line — some two thousand in 
number — on either side of their guns, in a line some four 
hundred feet in length, with the remainder of his force within 
a mile. They were well protected from our fire by a fence, 
which showed only their heads above it, and by numerous 
trees which afforded them cover. 

" On coming up, Colonel Dumont's men, the Seventh Indi- 



OF THE WAR. 151 

ana regiment, pressed into the stream, crossed it, and attempted 
to scale the bluff in front, in face of the enemy's fire of mus- 
ketry and artillery, but the steepness of the ascent rendered it 
impossible. When Captain Benham came up he found the 
men climbing the steep ascent almost on their faces ; and, see- 
ing the difficulty of success, he ordered them down again into 
the stream. On our right was a depression in the bluff, just 
where a ravine came down to the river, and he directed them 
to try the ascent there. They did so, but found the way so 
steep, and so obstructed by the dense cedar roots, that they 
soon found this, too, impossible. Captain Benham then ordered 
the regiment to cross the stream, and, keeping in its bed, 
immediately under the bluff, to pass down it to our left, where 
they could gain the road. This happy manoeuvre was imme- 
diately executed. The men passed down the whole front of 
the enem}'-, protected so effectually by the steepness of the bank 
from his fire, that they emei'ged on the right of the rebels 
without losing a man ; and, as the head of the column showed 
itself on their flank, the rebels fled, leaving one of their guns, 
and a number of killed, wounded, and prisoners in our hands. 
" About a quarter of a mile in advance, the river makes 
another turn, and here the enemy again attempted a stand. 
General Garnett himself bravely stood, and tried to gather his 
men around him, but in vain. He then begged for thirty 
skirmishers to go back with him and pick off our officers — as 
we were informed by our prisoners subsequently. A few did 
return with liim to the bank of the stream ; but, as we came 
up, they fired a volley and again fled, and left him with only 
a single companion. Our men ran forward to the bank of the 
stream, where a group of three cedars gave them a slight cover, 
and fired upon the fugitives. General Garnett was standmg 
with his back to us, trjnng in vain to rally his men, when he 
received a Minie ball just on the left of the spine. It made a 
terrible wound, piercing the heart and coming out at the right 
nipple, and the poor General threw up his arms, and with his 
single companion fell dead. Our men passed over, and find- 
ing by the straps on his shoulder that he was an officer of rank, 



152 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

sent word back immediately to the commanding officer. Cap- 
tain Benliam was still at the bluff, caring for the wounded and 
directing the removal of the cannon, but, on receiving the 
news, he at once rode forward to the spot, and himself first 
identified the body as that of General Garnett, late Major 
Garnett, U. S. A. 

" The body, which had remained undisturbed, was carried, 
by Captain Benhara's order, into a small log-house, where the 
General's money was taken from his pockets and counted, and, 
with his watch and sword, preserved for his family ; his field- 
telescope, an elegant opera-glass, a large map of Virginia, and 
some small sketches of our own positions near Grafton, became 
the legitimate trophies of the conqueror." 

The enemy was utterly broken — hopelessly defeated. Not 
more than two thousand of the five thousand with which Gar- 
nett had commenced his flight, escaped; and these were in 
such a disorganized condition as to be unavailable. Parties 
of them kept coming in to the Union camps for several days. 
They were well received and humanely cared for — hungry and 
almost naked, as they were in most instances. After recruiting 
them, the lenient policy was adopted of administering the oath 
of allegiance, or of a release on parole. Of course, men base 
enough to take up arms against their country scorned oaths 
and paroles ; and those scoundrels, almost without exception, 
were soon in the ranks of the Confederates. The Union Gen- 
erals were long in discovering that the best way to serve a 
rebel was to place him where his honor or oath were not to be 
called into requisition. 

This infamous disregard of oaths and honor was happily 
illustrated in the sarcasm of a Captain in one of the Ohio regi- 
ments. A rattlesnake was caught alive on the mountains and 
brought into camp. After tiring of its presence, its captor 
asked the Captain what he should do with the reptile. " Oh, 
swear him and let him go !" was the curt reply. 

With the destruction of Garnett's army Western Virginia 
was left to pursue its course of reorganization. The Wheeling 
Convention labored zealously and patriotically, heartily en- 



OF THE -WAR. 153 

dorsed in their efforts by tlie vast majority of people in tlie 
thirty counties west of the Blue Eidge Mountains. The new 
State soon came up like a Phoenix, and with Governor Pierre- 
pont at its head, became the recognized State of Virginia. 
Such were the fruits of McClellan's first campaign. 



XIV. 



THE FIRST DISASTER. 

The first real disaster which fell upon the Union arms oc- 
curred at Pig Betliel, on York Peninsula, on Monday, Juno 
lOtli. Butler, in his report, stated the reasons for the advance 
ordered, as follows : 

" Having learned that the enemy had established an ontpost of some 
strength at a place called Little Bethel, a small church, about eight 
miles from Newport News, and the same distance from Hampton, from 
whence they were accustomed nightly to advance both on Newj^ort 
News and the picket guards of Hampton to annoy them, and also from 
whence they had come down in small squads of cavalry and taken a 
number of Union men, some of whom had the safeguard and protection 
of the troops of the United States, and forced them into the rebel ranks, 
and that they were also gathering up the slaves of citizens wlio had 
moved away and left their farms in charge of their negroes, carrying 
them to work in intrenchments at Williamsburg and Yorktown, I had 
determined to send up a force to drive them back and destroy their 
camp, the head-quarters of which was this small church. I had also 
learned that at a short distance further on, on the road to Yorktown, 
was an outwork of the rebels, on the Hampton side of a place called 
Big Bethel, a large church, near the head of the north branch of Back 
River, and that here was a very considerable rendezvous, with works 
of more or less strength in process of erection, and from this point the 
whole country was laid under contribution." 
20 



154 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

He accordingly ordered Brigadier-General Pierce " to send 
Duryea's regiment of Zouaves to be ferried over Hampton creek 
at one o'clock on the morning of tlie lOth, and to march by 
the road up to Newmarket bridge, then crossing the bridge, 
to go by a by-road, and thus put the regiment in the rear of 
the enemy, and between Big Bethel and Little Bethel, in part 
for the purpose of cutting him off, and then to make an attack 
iipon Little Bethel." This regiment was to be supported by 
Colonel Townsend's regiment (Third New York volunteers) 
at Hampton, which was to take up its line of march at two 
o'clock. Colonel Phelps, at Newport News, was ordered to 
send forward " such companies of the regiments under his 
command as he thought best, under command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Washburne, in time to make a demonstration upon Lit- 
tle Bethel in front, and to have him supported by Colonel 
Bendix's regiment, with two field pieces." Bendix and Town- 
send were to form a junction at the forks of the roads leading 
from Hampton and Newport News, about a mile and a half 
from Little Bethel. 

These movements were so arranged that the attack upon 
Little Bethel was to be made at daybreak ; when, the enemy 
being repulsed, Duryea's Zouaves and one of the Newport News 
regiments were to " follow upon the heels of the flying rebels 
and attack the battery on the road to Big Bethel, while cover- 
ed by the fugitives, or, if it was thought expedient by Gen- 
eral Pierce, failing to surprise the camp at Little Bethel, they 
should attempt to take the work at Big Bethel. To prevent 
the possibility of mistake in the darkness, Butler dii-ected that 
no attack should be made until the watchword was shouted by 
the attacking regiment ; and, in case that, by any mistake in 
the march, the regiments to make the junction should unex- 
pectedly meet and be unknown to each other, it was directed 
that the members of Colonel Townsend's regiment should be 
known, if in daylight, by something white worn on the arm." 

These orders were explicit, it will be seen, and exonorate 
Butler from blame for the disaster which attended the expe- 



OF THE WAR. 155 

dition, since, had tliej been carried out, the objects of the ex- 
pedition would have been accomplished. 

The troops were all put in motion as ordered. The beau- 
tiful night, clear with the light of stars, rendered every move- 
ment easy. The regiments had passed to their several desig- 
nated positions — Duryea's in the advance and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Washburne with the Newport News troops close at 
hand. Townsend's regiment was coming up, and when within 
a few yards of the rendezvous, suddenly a furious fire was 
poured in upon his ranks, of small arms and cannon. This fire 
was supposed to proceed from an ambuscade of the enemy, 
and was returned, while the assailed regiment left the road 
and took the cover of a ridge in the rear. Not until several 
rounds had been discharged and two of Townsend's men kill- 
ed and eight wounded did the assailants (who proved to be 
a portion of Colonel Bendix's regiment of German riflemen, 
together with a few companies of Massachusetts and Vermont 
men) discover their grievous mistake. 

In the meanwhile, Colonel Duryea and Lieutenant- Colonel 
Washburne, hearing the firing, supposed the attack to proceed 
from the enemy, and, fearing that their communications might 
be cut off, fell back. The enemy's pickets had been reached 
by Duryea, and five of them were captured ; but, the alarm 
being given, and the advance retarded, the rebels had ample 
time to evacuate their position at Little Bethel, and to make 
good their retreat to Big Betl^el, where they had, as it after- 
wards appeared, excellent defensive works, held by a North 
Carolina regiment, and strong batteries manned by Magruder's 
own choice men. 

A conference was held by the several officers in command, 
when it was determined to push forward and assail Big Bethel 
— Duryea still on the advance. A messenger was dispatched to 
Butler giving an account of affairs, and suggesting that a regi- 
ment be sent forward as a reserve. Colonel Allen was, there- 
upon, thrown forward upon Hampton. No opposition was 
offered, save from one house, from which a shot was fired, 
woundina: one man. The house was in flames in a few 



156 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

moments. The vicinity of Big Betliel was reached by half- 
past nine A. M. The position was thus described : 

" On the right of the road as the troops advanced was a 
wood ; in the centre lay the road, and, on their left, a large 
open field. The enemy's batteries were placed so as not only 
to command the field, which was directly in front of thorn, but 
also the road and the centre woods on its left. A priA^atc 
house and some outbuildings stood in the plain, so that the 
Secessionists were placed on a hill, backed and concealed by 
woods ; in their entire front a stream, on the further side of 
that stream a large plain, with no shelter but that of one or 
two insignificant houses, and to the right, but commanded by 
their guns, a wood, through which ran the road." 

The enemy opened his cannonade at the first appearance of 
the Federal troops. Duryea, covered by two howitzers and a 
brass six-pounder, took the centre ; Townsend the left, near 
the plain, with two guns; Bendix the right, in the woods, 
with Lieutenant Greble serving his single piece of artillery, in 
front, openly. The fight was, from the first, extremely un- 
equal. The enemy, lurking behind intrenchments, and with 
guns commanding the entire approach, was also further guarded 
by a narrow, but deep stream, passing along their entire front, 
and covering their flank from approach. Thus secure, the 
contest was alarmingly unequal. Pierce, seeing how unex- 
pectedl}'' warm was to be his reception, dispatched a second 
messeno-er to Butler for reenforcements, when Colonel Carr's 
regiment, then advanced as far as Isewmarket bridge, moved 
to the scene of conflict — only reaching it, however, to partici- 
pate in the retreat. 

The fortunes of the day only needed a master-hand to direct 
them, to have turned in favor of the Union troops. General 
Pierce refrained from much command — each regiment seemino: 
to act entirely on its own responsibility. Several most gallant 
advances were made by the Zouaves, up to the enemy's very 
face, to pick off the men lurking behind their guns. Colonel 
Bendix prepared for a final assault, but found no orders given 
for a support Townsend's men behaved with great gallantry, 



OF THE WAR. 157 

and were only brought awaj from the murderons fire of the 
artillery by the personal leadership of the Colonel, who, on his 
horse, rode between the fires, and compelled his troops to 
retire. Lieutenant-Colonel Washburne had, also, an-anged 
for a flank movement which, with a combined attack from the 
front, must have ended the struggle ; but the order for retreat 
was given before the movement could be executed. One who 
was present as an observer, wrote : 

" The raw troops, recruits not yet two months enlisted, and 
many of them not having received two weeks drill, stood fire 
well. They were almost utterly unable to defend themselves, 
from the nature of things, but never flinched. Some were less 
disciplined than others, and their efforts less available, but no 
lack of the most difficult sort of courage, that which consists 
in enduring without the excitement of performing, was mani- 
fested. The cannonading of the enemy was incessant Shrap- 
nell, canister, and rifled balls came at the rate of three a minute ; 
the only intervals being those necessary to allow their guns to 
cool. Our own guns, although of comparatively little use, 
were not idle, until the artillery ammunition was entirely ex- 
hausted. Almost all of the cartridge rounds of the Zouaves 
were also fired. 

" At about one o'clock, Colonel Allen's regiment, the First 
New York, came up as a reenforcement, and. at about the 
same time, Colonel Carr's, of the Troy Yolunteers ; these also 
received several discharges of artillery ; but did not move 
upon the open field, with the exception of two hundred of the 
Troy Kifles. Their approach, however, seemed to the com- 
manding General to give no hope that he would be able, with- 
out more artillery, to take or silence the batteries, and, at 
about twenty minutes past one, he gave the order to withdraw." 

The Federal loss was fourteen killed, forty-nine wounded, and 
five missing. Among the killed were two of the most gallant and 
noble men in the service — Major Theodore Winthrop, Secretary 
and Aid to General Butler, and First-Lieutenant John T. Greble, 
of the United States regular Artillery, Second regiment. The 
enemy pronounced his loss to have been but one killed and 
o 



168 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

four wounded. The retreat was accomplislied in good order — 
the enemy not pursuing. A troop of cavalry sallied over the 
bridge, and fell upon the wagons collecting the wounded — • 
disregarding the flag of truce borne by the Chaplain in com- 
mand, but no attack was made on the lines. Colonel Phelps 
had dispatched two hundred and fifty men, under Colonel 
Hawkins, to the scene of combat ; but these troops only met 
the retreat 

This contest excited the public mind greatly. Upon General 
Pierce the censure of defeat fell, with merciless severity. He 
was charged with inefficiency, ignorance of field manoeuvres, 
want of pluck, etc., etc. It is questionable if the charges were 
wholly true. The first error was in dispatching so large a 
force without equivalent artillery. Had there been a dozen 
good field pieces, the enemy would have been driven from his 
position in half-an-hour. As it was, Greble's single gun did 
memorable service, and, had Bendix and Duryea been allowed 
to charge, as they wished, at a moment when it was evident 
that Greble and the sharpshooters had silenced over half of the 
enemy's guns, it is more than probable that the day would 
have been won. General Pierce lacked confidence in himself 
It was his first experience on the battle field ; he seemed con- 
fused by its responsibilities. Conceded to be a brave officer 
and a good disciplinarian, he still lacked the experiences of a 
general field command. Had he wisely conferred that com- 
mand upon Daryea, or, indeed, upon any one of his Colonels, 
that army never would have retreated, especially after the 
arrival of Colonel Carr's fine troops, with their two effective 
pieces of artillery. 

In the enemy's account of the fight, as given by the Eich- 
mond Dispatch^ the fact was m.ade known that Magruder com- 
manded in person. The infantry present consisted of the First 
North Carolina regiment, Colonel Hill. Their guns consisted 
of a superb howitzer battery (seven guns), embracing one fine 
Parrot field-piece. The battery was worked by one hundred 
chosen men, under Major Eandolph. The account stated, 
among other things : 



OF THE WAR. 159 

" About nine o'clock, the glittering bayonets of the enemy 
appeared on the hill opposite, and above them waved the Star 
^Spangled Banner. The moment the head of the column ad- 
vanced far enough to show one or two companies, the Parrot 
gun of the howitzer battery opened on them, throwing a shell 
right into their midst. Their ranks broke in confusion, and 
the column, or as much of it as we could see, retreated behind 
two small farm-hoases. From their position a fire was opened 
on us, which was replied to by our battery, which commanded 
the route of their approach. Our firing was excellent, and the 
shells scattered in all directions when they burst. They could 
hardly approach the guns which they were firing for the shells 
which came from our battery. Within our encampment fell a 
perfect hailstorm of canister-shot, bullets, and balls. Eemark- 
able to say, not one of our men was killed, inside of our en- 
campment. Several horses were slain by the shells and 
bullets. 

" Finding that bombardment would not answer, the enemy, 
about eleven o'clock, tried to carry the position by assault, but 
met a terrible repulse at the hands of the infantry, as he tried 
to scale the breastworks. The men disregarded sometimes the 
defenses erected for them, and, leaping on the embankment, 
stood and fired at the Yankees, cutting them down as they 
came up. One company of the New York Seventh regiment, 
under Captain Winthrop, attempted to take the redoubt on the 
left. The marsh they crossed was strewn with their bodies. 
Their Captain, a fine-looking man, reached the fence, and, lean- 
ing on a log, waved his sword, crying, ' Come on, boys, one 
charge, and the day is ours.' The words were his last, for a 
Carolina rifle ended his life the next moment, and his men fled 
in terror back. At the redoubt on the right, a company of 
about three hundred New York Zouaves charged one of our 
guns, but could not stand the fire of the infantry, and retreated 
precipitately. 

" During these charges, the main body of the enemy on the 
hill were attempting to concentrate for a general assault, but 
the shells from the howitzer battery prevented them. As one 



160 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

regiment would give up the effort, another would be marched 
to the position, but with no better success, for a shell would 
scatter them like chaff. The men did not seem able to stand 
fire at all. 

" About one o'clock their guns were silenced, and a few 
moments after, their infantry retreated precipitately down the 
road to Hampton." 

The Kaleigh State Journal published the following in an 
extra : 

" YoRKTOWN, Va., June lltb, 1861. 
'■'■Hon. J. W. Ellis, Governor of North Carolina: 

" Sir : I have the honor to report that eight hundred men of my regi- 
ment and three liundred and sixty Virginians were engaged for five 
and a half hours witli four and a half regiments of the enemy, at Bethel 
Church, nine miles from Hampton. 

" The enemy made three distinct and well-sustained charges, l)ut were 
repulsed with heavy loss. Our cavalry pursued them for six miles, when 
their retreat became a total route. Fearing that heavy recnforcements 
would be sent up from Fortress Monroe, we fell back at nightfall ujjon 
our works at Yorktown. I regret to rejjort the loss of one man killed, 
private Henry L. Wyatt, Edgecomb Guards, and seven wounded. 

" The loss of the enemy, by their own confession, was one hundred 
and fifty, but it may be safely estimated at two hundred and fifty. 

" Our regiment behaved most gallantly. Not a man shrunk from his 
post or showed symj^toms of fear. When more at leisure, I will give 
you a detailed report of the operations. 

" Our Heavenly Father has most wonderfully interposed to shield our 
hearts in the day of battle ; unto His great name be all the praise for 
our success. 

" With much respect, D. H. HILL, 

" Colonel First Regiment N. C. Volunteers." 



X"V. 



MAJOR WINTHROP. 

Major Theodore Wintlirop was one of those liTminaries 
whose worth was not fully estimated until it had departed for- 
ever. His brief career — his heroic death — gave to the news- 
paper paragraphist a theme for a brief record ; but to those 
who valued those qualities in man which render him adorable, 
the life of Major Winthrop was a theme of abiding interest, 
and his death the source of an abiding sorrow. 

If the young Ellsworth was the embodiment of the spirit 
of American energy and vitality, the young Winthrop was 
none the less a representative of American nobility of nature. 
His scarcely opened life had but just begun to display its pu- 
rity and grace ere it was closed again — to become a tender 
memory. Over Ellsworth's tomb hangs a halo of the glory 
which bursts and burns from the brow of the resistless man. 
Over the tomb of Winthrop beams the halo of glory which 
radiates and glows from the brow of the adorable man. It is 
well to enshrine the story of such lives in the history of the 
cause in which they were offered as sacrifices. 

The Atlantic Monthly for August, 1861, contained a paper 
on Winthrop, which so fully revealed the man, that we adopt 
it as the estimate which we desire to attach to his mem.ory. 
It was understood to emanate from the pen of George Henry 
Curtis, Esquire, an intimate associate of the deceased officer, 
and one familiar with that inner life of Winthrop which ren- 
dered him the type of man, whom it should be the study of our 
young men to emulate. We exti'act from that paper such 
portions of it as are material to a clear comprehension of the 
life and character of our subject : 
o2 21 



162 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

"He was born in New Haven on the 23cl of September, 1838, and 
was a grave, delicate, rather precocious child. He was at school only in 
New Haven, and entered Yale College just as he was sixteen. The pure, 
manly morality which was the substance of his character, and his bril- 
liant exploits of scholarship, made him the idol of his college friends, 
who saw in him the pi'omise of the splendid career which the fond faith 
of students allots to the favorite classmate. He studied for the Clark 
scholarship, and gained it ; and his name, in the order of time, is first 
upon the roll of that foundation. He won the Townsend i^rize for the 
best composition on history. For the Berkeleian scholarship he and 
another were judged equal, and, drawing lots, the other gained the 
scholarship ; but they divided the honor. 

" In college his favorite studies were Greek and mental philosophy. 
He never lost the scholarly taste and habit. A wide reader, he retained 
knowledge with little effort, and often surprised his friends by the 
variety of his information. Yet it was not strange, for he was born a 
scholar. His mother was the great grand-daughter of old President 
Edwards ; and, among his ancestors upon the maternal side, Wintlirop 
counted seven College Presidents. Perhaps, also, in this learned descent 
we may find the secret of his early seriousness. Thoughtful and self- 
criticizing, he was peculiarly sensible to religious influences, under 
which his criticism easily became self-accusation, and his sensitive 
seriousness grew sometimes morbid. He would have studied for the 
ministry or a professorship, upon leaving college, except for his failing 
health. 

" In the latter days, when I knew him, the feverish ardor of the first 
religious impulse was past. It had given place to a faith much too 
deep and sacred to talk about, yet holding him always with serene, 
steady poise in the purest region of life and feeling. There was no 
franker or more sympathetic companion for young men of his own age 
than he ; but his conversation fell from his lips as unsullied as his soul. 

" He graduated in 1848, when he was twenty years old; and, for the 
sake of his health, which was seriously shattered — an ill-health that 
colored all his life — he set out upon his travels. He went first to 
England, spending much time at Oxford, where he made pleasant 
acquaintances, and walking through Scotland. He then crossed over 
to France and Germany, exploring Switzerland very thoroughly upon 
foot — once or twice escaping great dangers among the mountains — and 
pushed on to Italy and Greece, still walking much of the way. In Italy 
he made the acquaintance of Mr. W. H. Aspinwall, of New York, and, 
upon his return, became tutor to Mr. Aspinwall's son. He presently 
accompanied his pupil and a nephew of Mr. Aspinwall, who were going 
to a school in Switzerland ; and, after a second short tour of six months 



OF THE WAR. 163 

in Euro23e, he returned to New York, and entered Mr. Aspinwall's 
counting-bouse. In the employ of the Pacific Steamship Company he 
went to Panama, and resided for about two years, traveling, and often 
ill of the fevers of the country. Before his return he traveled through 
California and Oregon — went to Vancouver's Island, Puget Sound, and 
the Hudson Bay Company's station there. At the Dalles he was smitten 
with the small-pox, and lay ill for six weeks. He often spoke with the 
warmest gratitude of the kind care that was taken of him there. But 
when only partially recovered, he i^lunged off again into the wilderness. 
At another time, he fell very ill u^jon the Plains, and lay down, as he 
supposed, to die ; but, after some time, struggled up and on again. 

" He returned to the counting-room, but, unsated with adventure, 
joined the disastrous expedition of Lieutenant Strain, during which his 
health was still more weakened, and he came home again in 1845. In 
the following year he studied law, and was admitted to the bar. In 1856 
he entered heartily into the Fremont campaign, and from the strongest 
conviction. He went into some of the dark districts of Pennsylvania, and 
spoke incessantly. The roving life and its picturesque episodes, with 
the earnest conviction which inspired him, made the summer and 
autumn exciting and pleasant. The following year he went to St. Louis 
to practice law. The climate was unkind to him, and he returned and 
began the practice in New York. But he could not be a lawyer. His 
health was too uncertain, and his tastes and ambition allured him else- 
where. His mind was brimming with the results of observation. His 
fancy was alert and inventive, and he wrote tales and novels. At the 
same time he delighted to haunt the studio of his friend Church, the 
painter, and watch day by day the progress of his picture, the Heart of 
the Andes. It so fired his imagination that he wrote a description of 
it, in which, as if rivalling the tropical and tangled richness of the jDic- 
ture, he threw together such heaps and masses of gorgeous words, that 
the reader was dazzled and bewildered. 

" The wild, campaigning life, was always a secret passion with him. 
His stories of travel were so graphic and warm, that I remember one 
evening, after we had been tracing upon the map a route he had taken, 
and he had touched the whole region into life with his description, my 
younger brother, who had sat by and listened with wide eyes all the 
evening, exclaimed, with a sigh of regretful satisfaction, as the door 
closed upon our story-teller, ' It's as good as Robinson Crusoe ! ' Yet, 
with all his fondness and fitness for that kind of life, or, indeed, any 
active administrative function, his literary ambition seemed to be the 
deepest and strongest. 

"He had always been writing. In college and upon his travels he 
kept diaries; and he has left behind him several novels, tales, sketches 



164 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

of travel, and journals. The first published writing of his ■which is well 
known, is his description of the March of the Seventh Regiment of Xew 
York to Washington. It was charming by its graceful, sparkling, crisp, 
off-hand dash and ease. But it is only the practised hand that can 
"dash off" the story of a day, or a week, in the life of the regiment, 
and he will see that the writer did that little thing well, because he had 
done large things carefully. Yet, amid all the hurry and brilliant 
bustle of the articles, the author is, as he was in the most bustling mo. 
ment of life they described, a spectator, an artist. He looks on at him- 
self, and the scene of which he is part — he is willing to merge his 
individuality ; but he does not merge it, for he could not, 

" So, wandering, hoping, trying, waiting, thirty-two years of his life 
went by, and they left him true, symijathetic, patient. The sharp pri- 
vate griefs that sting the heart so deeply, and leave a little poison be- 
hind, did not spare him. But he bore everything so bravely, so silently 
— often silent for a whole evening in the midst of pleasant talkers, l>ut 
not imiDcrtinently sad, nor even sullen — that we all loved him a little 
more at such times. The ill-health from which he always suffered, and 
a flower-like delicacy of temperament, the yearning desire to be of some 
service in the world, coupled with the curious, critical introspection 
which marks every sensitive and refined nature and paralyzes action, 
overcast his life and manner to the common eye with pensiveness and 
even sternness. He wrote vei'ses in which his heart seerns to exhale in 
a sigh of sadness. But he was not in the least a sentimentalist. The 
womanly grace of temperament merely enhanced the unusual manliness 
of his character and impression. It was like a delicate carnation upon 
the cheek of a robust man ; for his humor was exuberant. He seldom 
laughed loud, but his smile was sweet and appreciative. Then the 
range of his sympathies was so large, that he enjoyed every kind of life 
and person, and was everywhere at home. In walking and riding, in 
skating and running, in games out of doors and in, no one of us all in 
the neighborhood was so expert, so agile as he. For, above all things, 
he had what we Yankees call faculty— the knack of doing everything. 
If he rode with a neighbor who was a good horseman, Theodore, who 
was a Centaur, when he mounted, would put any horse ^t any gate or 
fence ; for it did not occur to him that he could not do whatever was 
to be done. Often, after writing for a few hours in the morning, he 
stepjied out of doors, and, from pure love of the fun, leaped and turned 
summersaults on the grass, before going up to town. In walking about 
the island, he constantly stopped by the roadside fences, and, grasjDing 
the highest rail, swung himself swiftly and neatly over and back again, 
resuming the walk and the talk without delay. 

" I do not wish to make him too much of a hero. ' Death,' says 



OF THE WAR. 165 

Bacon, ' openetli the gate to good fame.' When a neighbor flies, his 
form and quality appear clearly, as if he had been dead a thousand 
years. Then we see what we only felt before. Heroes in history seem 
to us poetic because they are there. But if we should tell the simple 
truth of some of our neighbors, it would sound like poetry. Winthrop 
was one of the men who represent the manly and poetic qualities that 
always exist around us — not great genius, which is ever salient, but the 
fine fibre of manhood that makes the worth of the race. 

" Closely engaged with his literary employments, and more quiet 
than ever, he took less active part in the last election. But when the 
menace of treason became an aggressive act, he saw very clearly the in- 
evitable necessity of arms. We all talked of it constantly — watching 
the news — chafing at the sad necessity of delay, which was sure to con- 
fuse foreign opinion and alienate sympathy, as has proved to be the 
case. As matters advanced and the war-cloud rolled up thicker and 
blacker, he looked at it with the secret satisfaction that war for such a 
cause opened his career both as thinker and actor. The admirable 
coolness, the promptness, the cheerful patience, the heroic ardor, the 
intelligence, the tough experience of campaigning, the profound con- 
viction that the cause was in truth ' the good old cause,' which was now 
to come to the death-grapple with its old enemy, Justice against Injus- 
tice, Order against Anarchy — all these should now have their turn, and 
the wanderer and waiter ' settle himself at last. 

" We took a long walk together on the Sunday that brought the 
news of the capture of Fort Sumter. He was thoroughly alive with a 
bright, earnest forecast of his part in the coming work. Returning 
home with me, he sat until late in the evening talking with an unwont- 
ed spirit, saying playfully, I remember, that, if his friends would only 
give him a horse, he would ride straight to victory. Especially he 
wished that some competent jjerson would keep a careful record of 
events as they passed ; 'for we are making our history,' he said, ' hand 
over hand.' He sat quietly in the great chair while he spoke, and at 
last rose to go. We went together to the door, and stood for a little 
while upon the piazza, where we had sat peacefully through so many 
golden summer-hours. The last hour for us had come, but we did not 
know it. We shook hands, and he left me, jjassing rapidly along the 
brook-side under the trees, and so in the soft spring starlight vanished 
from my sight forever. 

" The next morning came the President's proclamation. Winthrop 
went immediately to town and enrolled hiiuself in the artillery corps 
of the Seventh regiment. During the two or three following days he 
was very busy and very happy. On Friday afternoon, the 19th of 
April, I stood at the corner of Courtland street and saw the regiment 



166 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

ar, it marched away. Two days before, I bad seen tbe Massacbusetta 
troojis goiuf^' down tbe same street. During tlie day tbe news had 
come tbat tbey were already engaged, that some were already dead in 
Baltimore. And tbe Seventb, as tbey went, blessed and yve-pt over by 
a great city, went, as we all believed, to terrible battle. Tbe setting 
sun in a clear April sky sbone full up the street. Motbers' eyes glis- 
tened at tbe windows upon tbe glistening bayonets of their boys below. 
I knew tbat Wintlirop and other dear friends were there, but I did not 
see them. I saw only a thousand men marching like one hero. The 
music beat and rang and clashed in tbe air. Marching to death or vic- 
tory or defeat, it mattered not. Tbey marched for Justice, and God 
was their Captain. 

" From that moment he has told bis own story in these pages* until 
he went to Fortress Monroe, and was made acting military secretary 
and aid by General Butler. Before he went, he wrote tbe most copious 
and gayest letters from the camp. He was thoroughly aroused, and all 
his powers happily at play. In a letter to me soon after bis arrival in 
Washington, he says : 

" ' I see no present end of this business. We must conquer the South. 
Afterward we must be prepared to do its police in its own behalf, and 
in behalf of its black population, whom this war must, without precipi- 
tation, emancipate. We must bold tbe South as the metropolitan po- 
lice holds New York. All this is inevitable. Now I wish to enroll 
myself at once in the Police of the Nation^ and for life, if the nation will 
take me. I do not see tbat I can put myself— expei'ience and character 
^to any more useful use My experience in this short cam- 
paign with the Seventh assures me tbat volunteers are for one purpose 
and regular soldiers entirely another. We want regular soldiers for tbe 
cause of order in these anarchial countries, and we want men xti, com- 
mand who, though they may be valuable as temporary satraps or pro- 
consuls to make liberty possible where it is now impossible, will never 
under any circumstances be disloyal to Liberty^ will always oppose any 
scheme of any one to constitute a military government, and will be 
ready, when the time comes, to imitate Washington. We must think 
of these things, and prepare for them.' 

" Tbe last days of his life at Fortress Monroe were doubtless also the 
happiest. His energy and enthusiasm, and kind, winning ways, and 
the deep satisfaction of feeling that all bis gifts could now be used as 
he would have them, showed him and his friends that his day had at 
length dawned. He was especially interested in tbe condition and fate 
of the slaves who escaped from the neighboring region and sought 



OF THE WAR. 167 

refuge at the fort. He bad never for an instant forgotten tUe secret 
root of the treason wliicli was desolating the land with war ; and in his 
view there would l)e no peace until that root was destroyed. In his 
letters written from the fort he suggests plans of relief and comfort for 
the refugees ; and one of his last requests was to a lady in New York, 
for clothes for these poor pensioners. They were promptly sent, but 
reached the fort too late. 

" As I look over these last letters, which gush and throb with the 
fullness of his activity, and are so tenderly streaked with touches of 
constant aflfection and remembrance, yet are so calm and duly mindful 
of every detail, I do not think with an elder friend, in whom the wis- 
dom of years has only deeijened sympathy for all generous youthful 
impulse, of Virgil's Marcellus, '' Heu^miserande fuer V but I recall, rather, 
still haunted by Philip Sidney, what he wrote, just before his death, to 
his father-in-law, Walsingham — 'I think a wise and constant man 
ought never to grieve while he doth play, as a man may say his own 
part truly.' 

" The disastrous day of the lOtli of June, at Great Bethel, need not 
be described. It is already written with tears and vain regrets in our 
history. It is useless to prolong the debate as to where the blame of 
defeat, if blame there were, should rest. But there is an impression 
somewhat prevalent that Winthrop planned the expedition, which is 
incorrect. As military secretary of the commanding general, he made 
a memorandum of the outline of the plan as it had been finally settled. 
Precisely what that memorandum (which has been published) was, he 
explains in the last letter he wrote, a few hours before leaving the fort. 
He says : ' If I come back safe, I will send you my notes of the jjlan of 
attack, jDart made up from the General's hints, part my own fancies.' 
This defines exactly his responsibility. His position as aid and military 
secretary, his admirable qualities as adviser under the circumstances, 
and his personal friendship for the General, brought him intimately 
into the council of war. He embarked in the plan all the interest of a 
brave soldier contemplating his first battle. He probably made sug- 
gestions some of which were adopted. The expedition was the first 
move from Fort Monroe, to which the country had been long looking 
in expectation. These were the reasons why he felt so peculiar a 
responsibility for its success ; and after the melancholy events of the 
earlier part of the day, he saw that its fortunes could be retrieved only 
by a dash of heroic enthusiasm. Fired himself, he sought to kindle 
others. For one moment that brave, inspiring form is plainly visible 
to his whole country, rapt and calm, standing upon the log nearest the 
enemy's battery, the mark of their sharpshooters, the admiration of 
their leaders, waving his. sword, cheering his fellow-soldiers with his 



168 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

bugle voice of victory — young, brave, beautiful, for one moment erect 
and glowing in the wild whirl of battle, the next falling forward to- 
ward the foe, dead, but triumphant. 

" On the 19th of April he left the armory-door of the Seventh, with 
his hand upon a howitzer ; on the 21st of June his body lay upon the 
same howitzer at the same door, wrapi>ed in the fiag for which he 
gladly died, as the symbol of human freedom. And so, drawn by the 
hands of young men lately strangers to him, but of whose bravery and 
loyalty he had been the laureate, and who fitly mourned him Avho had 
honored Ihem, with long, iiealiug dix'ges and muffled drums, he moved 
forward." 



XV^I 



THE SECOND DISASTER. 

The defeat of tlie Federal anny of invasion at Bull Eun 
Sunday, July 21st, 1861, was one of the most remarkable and 
mysterious affairs recorded in the annals of modern warfare. 
A magnificent army, having fought, against great odds, a bat- 
tle of an unusually sanguinary nature, at a moment when vic- 
tory was about to rest upon its standard, broke up in a panic, 
retreated in disorder to their fartherest defenses, abandoned 
vast stores, artillery and equippage, forsook positions which a 
few brave men could have held securely, and collected in camp 
a disorganized and dispirited mass — all from no ]3erceptible 
good reason and without being able to fasten the first fault 
upon any particular corps or regiment. 

That the battle was virtually won by the Federal forces the 
rebel leaders themselves confess, Beauregard, at a dinner 
given him in Eichmond, stated, with minuteness, the circum- 
stances of his peril and his defeat — that he had just given the 
order to his aid for the grand retreat to Manassas, but retained 
the aid to await the solution of a single movement : a banner 



OF THE WAR. 1G9 

was seen in tlie distance, to the west, advancing at the head 
of a division — if that of the Federals all was lost — if that of 
one of his own divisions it would steady the movements about 
to be ordered, or possibly turn the tide of defeat. He depict- 
ed the intensity of his emotions at that moment, and how his 
heart leaped for joy upon distinguishing, with his glass, that 
tlie flag was that of the Confederacy. The order for retreat 
was not issued, and soon the General-in-Chief learned that the 
long looked-for reenforcements from Johnson's army had ar- 
rived. This timely arrival of fourteen thousand comparatively 
fresh men saved Beauregard's overwhelming defeat and gave 
him the vantage ground. The Union troops, however, fought 
the way on — were pushing the enemy slowly but surely back- 
ward when, without just cause, a stampede commenced, which 
no power of officers, or of eminent civilians present, could pre- 
vent. The regiments of most undoubted bravery, those whose 
ranks were deplorably thinned by service fled in dismay be- 
fore an imaginary pursuit. Artillery of the most costly and 
efficient character was abandoned — the gunners taking to the 
horses for escaj)e. Wagons loaded with immense quantities 
of stores were abandoned, while the teamsters or the flying 
infantry seized the horses and mules to hasten in advance of 
the disordered mass. Officers came on without commands, 
wild with frenzy at the course of their troops, but perfectly 
powerless to stay the disgraceful scamper. A few regiments 
moved on in comparatively good order, but their course was 
Washington- ward, and no efforts to stand were made. Blenk- 
er's fine division — held as a reserve at Centerville, covered the 
rout in good order, but did no service as no enemy pursued. 
It was a causeless, senseless, disgraceful panic — one which ever 
will stand as one of the inexplicable phenomena of the modern 
battle-field. 

No battle ever was fought where so many and such various 
opinions were expressed by those present. Many newspapers 
were represented by able and vigilant correspondents ; num- 
bers of Congressmen were there ; eminent civilians came out 
to view the conflict, which was heralded by the sku-mishiug 

p22 



170 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

, of three previous days ;— most all of whom published state- 
ments and narratives of the disaster, many of which disagreed 
in important, specific and general particulars. The statements 
of officers only added to the confusion, while official reports 
failed to throw any light upon the actual cause or the extent 
of the disaster. 

A letter from an officer of the regular service present at the 
battle, gave the following general narrative of the events of 
the day : 

"The march from our bivouac, near Centrcville, was taken up at 21 A. M. 
on Sunday. Among officers and men the imjDression pi-evailed that the 
action would occur at Bull's Run, the scene of General Tyler's repulse 
a day or two previously. In this they were disappointed. Tyler's 
brigade posted themselves at the bridge over Bull's Run, where they 
were ordered to feign an attack as soon as General Hunter's division 
were known to be in position. This order was partially obeyed. Hun- 
ter's division, composed of Burnside's brigade and Porter's brigade, 
after proceeding a mile beyond Centreville, made a detour to the right, 
and proceeded over a wood road, well covered from observation, to the 
left flank of the enemy at Manassas, a distance of about eiglit miles. 
At six o'clock tiring was heard on the heights at Bull's Run, from a 
battery in Tyler's brigade, which was promptly answered by the enemy's 
batteries. Their position thus revealed, the advance division (Hunter's) 
ascended a hill at double quick, and almost immediately the Rhode 
Island battery and Griffin's West Point battery were in brisk action. 
The former was sujsported by the First regiment Rhode Island volun- 
teers, who maintained their ground nobly for a half hour. At this mo- 
ment Porter's brigade, composed of the Fourteenth, Seventh and Twen- 
ty-seventh New York, with a battalion of United States marines, under 
Major Reynolds, and a battalion of United States Third, Second and 
Eighth infantry, under Major Sykes, took their position in line of battle 
upon a hill, within range of the enemy's fire. Burnside's battery being 
sorely pressed, the enemy having charged closely upon it, the gallant 
Colonel galloped to Major Sykes and implored him to come to his as- 
sistance. Major Sykes brought up his men at a run, and, with a deaf- 
ening shout, they charged upon the enemy's skirmishers, who fled before 
them several hundred yards. Forming in column of divisions, Sykes' 
battalion advanced a considerable distance, until they drew upon them- 
selves an intensely hot fire of musketry and artillery. Tliis was a trying 
moment. The volunteers expected much of the regulars, and gazed 
upon them as they stood in unbroken line, receiving the fire, and return- 



OFTHEWAE. 171 

ing it -n'ith fatal precision. Impressions and resolutions are formed on 
the battle-field in an instant. The impression at this moment was a 
happy cue, and Heintzelman's brigade coming up into line, our forces 
steadily advanced upen the retreating rebels. The batteries, which had 
been meanwhile recruited with men and horses, renewed their fire with 
increased effect, and our supremacy upon the field was apparent. The 
enemy's fire was now terrific. Sliell, round-shot and grape from tlieir 
batteries covered the field with clouds ot" dust, and many a gallant fel- 
low fell in that brief time. At this juncture the volunteers, who hither- 
to had behaved nobly, seeing their ranks thinned out, many losing 
their field and company officers, lost confidence, and in a panic fell back. 
Three fresh regiments coming on the field at this time, would have 
formed a nucleus ujjon which a general rally could have been effected, 
but while the enemy had reenforcements pouring in upon them momen- 
tarily, our entire force was in the field and badly cut up. Thus was 
our action maintained for hours. The panic was momentarily increas- 
ing. Regiments were observed to march up in good order, discharge 
one volley, and then fall back in confusion. But there was no lack of 
gallantry, generally speaking, and not a great many manifestations of 
cowardice. Our artillery, which made sad havoc upon the rebels, had 
spent their ammunition or been otherwise disabled by this time, and in 
the absence of reenforcements, a retreat was inevitable. The time for 
the last attack had now come. Nearly all of the rebel batteries were in 
place, though silent. There was a calm — an indescribable calm. Every 
jnan on the field felt it. I doubt if any one could describe it. General 
McDowell was near the front of our lines, mounted on his gray charger. 
And here let me say, emphatically, that, whatever may be the criticisms 
upon his conduct by the military or the abominable stay.at-home news- 
paper scribblers and politicians, no braver man trod that turf at Manas- 
sas than General McDowell, Major Sykes' battalion of eight companies, 
five of Third infantry, two of the Second, and one of the Eighth, were 
marched several hundred yards to the right, and formed the right flank 
of the line. Several volunteer regiments were deployed as skirmishers 
on the centre and left. Thus they advanced to the crest of the hill. 
The enemy met them with batteries and musketry in front, and two bat- 
teries and a thousand cavalry on the right. The fire Avas terrific. We 
maintained our position for a half hour. Then it was discovered that 
the rebel cavalry were attempting to outflank our right. We had no 
force to resist them, and the bugle of the regulars sounded the march in 
retreat. This, so far as we were concerned, was conducted in good 
order. On Major Sykes was imposed the responsible duty of covering 
the retreat of the army. In this he was assisted on part of the route 
by the United States cavab y, under Major Palmer. The enemy followed 



172 IXCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

US with their artillery and cavalry, shelling us constantly, until wo 
reached Centreville. Here we bivouacked for an hour, and then again 
took up the line of march." 

This spealcs for tlie regulars, but does meager justice to those 
many gallant regiments that bore the brunt of the fight ; while 
it omits the most material incidents of the retreat Blenker's 
troops (four regiments from Mills' division) covered the retreat 
— being specially detailed as the reserve and to hold the heights 
of Centreville. 

From another more detailed account we glean such items as 
will, taken in connection with the above, give a consistent idea 
of the character of the contest, 

" On a line, right and left with Fairfax, the entire column 
halted and bivouacked during the night of Wednesday the 
17th. Beyond a false alarm caused by the discharge of a sen- 
tinel's musket, which aroused the entire camp, and placed the 
division under arms, nothing of any account occurred. Eleven 
rebel soldiers belonging to the Sixth Alabama regiment, and 
two citizens, were captured by the Fire Zouaves and brought 
to Colonel Blenker, who commanded them to the lock-up un- 
der a strong guard. At eight o'clock A. m., on the 18tb, we 
broke camp and proceeded to Centreville, where the Fifth 
division arrived in advance of all others. Our march to this 
spot was difficult and dangerous. The pioneers worked like 
beavers ; the roads were barricaded to such an extent, that we 
had to cut our way inch by inch. The road being straight 
through heavy pine woods, we were compelled to throw out 
skirmishers on our right and left, to guard against a surprise 
attack. 

" At Centreville, we remained from Thursday morning until 
Sunday the 21st, the day of the memorable battle of Bull's 
Bun. While the Fifth division was encamped in the valley, 
about half-a-mile from Centreville, the right flank of the grand 
column arrived, and a portion of it, in command of General 
Tyler, was sent in advance towards Bull's Eun Creek, to recon- 
noitre the enemy's position and detect his batteries. 

"On Friday morning the Secretary of War, accompanied by 



OF THE WAR. 173 

Colonel Scott and Mr. Moore, bis private secretary, arrived at 
the encampments, to note the position and condition of the 
troops. It was soon rumored that General Scott was at Centre- 
ville, and great enthusiasm was manifested by the soldiers 
when they were told that the veteran Commander-in-Chief was 
among them. The statement, however, was false, for the hero 
of a hundred battles was not there pro. personce. In the even- 
ing, the commanding ofl&cers were invited to a council of war 
at the quarters of General McDowell. 

" The orders of General Tyler, it is understood, were specific 
not to give the enemy battle ; but tlie skirmishers of the 
Twelfth New York volunteers were scarcely one mile and a 
half from Centreville, before a masked battery opened upon 
them, killing and wounding a number of the men. The First 
Massachusetts, Second Wisconsin, and First Minnesota regi- 
ments suffered badly. The Twelfth regiment retreated in 
disorder. The Sixty-ninth, Colonel Corcoran, and the Seventy- 
ninth, Colonel Cameron, both New York State militia, came 
up to reenforce our troops, but arrived too late to render any 
effectual service. In fact they did not even have an opportu- 
nity to participate in this fight, all the troops having been 
ordered back to Centreville first. The Twelfth New York 
volunteers and the First Massachusetts volunteers suffered 
most; their loss in killed, wounded, and missing could not 
have been less than from one hundred to one hundred and 
fifty. In the evening, however, those regiments, besides the 
Connecticut volunteers, were moved forward, and camjDcd 
upon the late battle-field, the enemy having retreated from 
their position. With the exception of driving in our pickets, 
the capture of a rebel named Wingfield, by Captain Forstner, 
of the Eighth regiment New York volunteers, and the sur- 
render of an orderly sergeant, named Leadbeater, of the 
Virginia Ninth, our camps remained quiet until Sunday 
morning. 

" Early Sunday morning the divisions began to move. The 
Warrington road was taken by the centre column ; and General 
McDowell directed Colonel Heintzelman to march with his 
p2 



174 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

division in tliat direction. Sherman's batteiy, Lieutenant 
Hajnes' thirty-pound rifled siege gun, Parrott's patent, and 
Carhsle's Ijattery accompanied this division. Further to the 
right, was Colonel Hunter's, Franklin's, Keyes' and Porter's 
divisions. Each of them were supported by artillery. At six 
o'clock, Lieutenant Haynes opened the ball by sending a shot 
from his battery, which he repeated alternately for upwards of 
an hour, without receiving any reply from the enemy. Finally, 
the rebels responded with some grape and canister, which was 
duly aj)preciated and returned with interest. The rebels 
seemingly had the proper range of their guns. 

" The firing then became general, and the enemy slowly 
retreated, followed closely by our troops. An assault was 
contemplated ; and the Sixt}^ -ninth. Seventy-ninth, and Fire 
Zouaves were ordered to storm the battery. These valiant 
soldiers steadily advanced under a galling fire, and were almost 
in possession of the guns, when a tremendous volley raked 
their front, and they were compelled to fall back. The reason 
of the repulse was obvious. The field officers made a great 
mistake in attempting to carry a battery from the front, and 
neglected to deploy on the flanks. From this instant the fight 
became more general. The entire column on the right now 
pressed forward, and the Fire Zouaves, the Sixty-ninth, and 
Seventy-ninth regiments had actually captured three masked 
batteries, when an immense troop of cavalry advanced, and 
commenced cutting the gallant men to pieces. The Zouaves 
lay flat on their faces to load, and their fire was so steady and 
accurate, that whoever was hit by them was seen to bite the 
dust 

" Colonel Cameron, of the Highlanders, gallantly led on his 
men to the charge. I'he brave Scotchmen were so eager for 
the fight, that some of them actually stripped off their shoes 
and coats and rushed upon the enemy. The colonel of this 
fine regiment did not live long enough to see the valiant deeds 
of those whom he commanded, for, after discharging his 
revolver twice, and while in the act of shooting the third time, 
a ball from a musket penetrated his left breast, and he fell 



OF THE WAR. , 175 

from his horse upon the field. Instead of becoming disheart- 
ened by this event, the gallant Highlanders pushed on, encou- 
raged by the brave Major McClelland (Lieutenant-Colonel 
Elliott not being on the gi'ound) in their charge on the enemy. 
The Sixty-ninth regiment, Colonel Corcoran, also evinced the 
most unflinching courage, and the only charge that in any way 
approaches that of the rebel cavalry, was the famous charge at 
Balaklava ; and it has yet to be proved whether it was so gal- 
lantly resisted as the charge was by these three New York 
regiments. The Ehode Island, Maine, Connecticut, Wisconsin, 
Massachusetts, and the rest of the New York regiments all 
fought furiously, regardless of danger. The New York 
Seventy-first and Eighth regiments also signalized themselves, 
and clearly demonstrated that their military training was not 
altogether confined to parading on Broadway in full dress 
uniform. These men, although their term of service was 
about to expire, did not flinch a hair from the duty they owed 
to their country, and sprang forward to the charge, although 
their ranks were thinned. 

" The Ehode Island battery did good service, the enemy at 
one time took the guns, but the gallant boys recaptured them 
with considerable slaughter. Thus the fight raged for nine 
consecutive hours without interruption. When our troops in 
the first place came upon the battle-field, on double-quick 
time, they were exhausted to such an extent on reaching the 
ground, that their tongues actually hung out of their mouths. 
The poor soldiers suffered terribly for the want of drinking 
water, and whenever a rill or a moist place was discovered, 
the half-famished men threw themselves upon the ground, 
licking the moisture. According to instructions. General Pat- 
terson was to have come to the reenforcement of our division, 
and was expected at Centreville at twelve o'clock noon. Had 
he arrived, our weary troops would have been relieved and 
given time to rest, while the attack would have been followed 
up. Everything went on gloriously until about three o'clock 
in the afternoon, and although a goodly number of our men 
were killed, still the spirit of those remaining was unbroken. 



176 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

but physically they were unable to maintain their position 
much lonsfer. 

" Captain Ayres' battery and a portion of Eickett's battery 
fell into the hands of the enemy, but were retaken after an 
immense sacrifice of life. A regiment of Black cavalry made 
a circuitous dash at our right and left flanks, which was ob- 
served by the Zouaves. They immediately fell to the ground, 
and each marked his man. Some picked off two and three, 
and in less than half an hour from their first appearance the 
black cavalry horses were seen dashing back riderless. Only 
a few of this troop returned, out of about eight hundred men. 

" About half-past four o'clock in the afternoon a tenible 
dash of cavalry and a fierce charge of artillery was made at 
our exhausted troops. This charge did the most devastating 
damage, mowing down everything in its furious career. The 
agonized shrieks of the wounded, the terrible roar of artillery, 
snorting of frightened animals, tended to strike terror into the 
hearts of the soldiers. In this charge. Griffin's, Ricket's and 
the Rhode Island batteries were taken. Those in citizen's 
dress became alarmed and took to their heels, taking what- 
ever conveyance they could lay their hands iipon. From them 
the teamsters, some five hundred, who had driven their wag- 
ons farther in advance than was any necessity for, took fright. 
The road being very narrow, in fact a gorge, the ponderous 
vehicles could not be turned, and in many cases the cowardly 
drivers cut the traces, mounted their steeds and rode off, leav- 
ing the valuables which were entrusted to their care by the 
Government to take care of itself Thus thousands of dollars 
worth of jorovisions were left behind. The army wagons dash- 
ing down the road, spread the panic among the citizens, who 
made all possible haste to leave so hot a neighborhood. 

" Colonel Miles in the meantime had received instructions 
to move his reserve forward, and the German brigade, under 
Colonel Blenker, following Crreen's, Hunt's and Tidball's bat- 
teries, started on a double-quick to the scene of battle. The 
brigade, however, had scarcely advanced three miles from Cen- 
treville before the entire army came along, every man looking 



OF THE WAR. 177 

out for himself. Througli the firmness of Colonel Blenker, a 
short stand was made at CentreviJle, and the flying troops 
somewhat reassured. All the threats, promises and denunci- 
ations were of no avail, and the only course to be pursued was 
to cover the retreat as much as possible in case of a pursuit. 
The troops reached Fairfax in safety, and those regiments 
that were sent into Virginia on Sunday were ordered back, 
and joined the column of the retreating forces. Between 
Washington and A lexandria all travelling communication was 
cut off' by the Government, so as not to allow the panic- 
stricken soldiers to push into the Capital." 

As might be expected, the most intense feeling pervaded 
all classes. The defeat, at the very moment of victory, was 
mortifying, but the rout and demoralization was mortifying 
in the extreme. The public in its eager desire to find some 
palliation for the disaster, sought victims for its blame ; and 
the Secretary of War — the " On to Eichmond !" press — the 
Congressmen who had goaded General Scott by their displays 
of temper at his deliberate way of pressing the campaign — all 
suffered at the hands of the indignant people. But, as the 
excitement of the moment cleared away, and matters came to 
be understood, attention was directed to the reenforcements 
received by Beauregard — Johnson's entire army from Win- 
chester : why were they allowed to escape Patterson's heavy 
columns sent specifically to engage the rebel, at every hazard, 
and thus to keep him away from Manassas ? That fliilure to 
engage resulted, as Scott foreknew it must, in overpowering 
McDowell's thirty-two thousand men. Had Patterson detain- 
ed Johnson, as ordered, all would have been well, and " On 
to Richmond !" would have been, in all probability, a fulfilled 
command. 

How inscrutable are the ways of Providence ! Had the 
rebels been defeated at Bull Run and forced from Manassas, 
an armistice might have followed — doubtless would have fol- 
lowed ; when a " settlement" woiild have replaced the rebels 
in power as in the past, to domineer over, to browbeat and in- 
sult, to cast a stigma iipon, the North and its Free State senti- 



173 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

ment, and have only postponed the day of final decision of the 
great principles of Government involved. That defeat called 
forth the yet but half-aroused sentiment of the North, con- 
vincing the people of the true nature of the struggle, and com- 
manding those mighty resources which alone were capable of 
finally crushing out the rebellion to the last degree, leaving 
the great principle of the supremacy of the Central Govern- 
ment no longer questioned, and the right of the majority to 
rule a fixed fact. 



XVII. 



INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN". 

A VOLUME would scarcely suffice to contain all the stories 
related of haps and mishaps, personal achievements and adven- 
tures, incidents and anecdotes of the field of Bull Eun. We 
can devote but a section to them, showing such as seem to 
illustrate, in an indirect way, the fortunes and circumstances 
of the struggle. 

The battle consisted of a succession of fires from masked 
batteries, which opened in every direction, (when one was 
silenced, its place was supplied by two,) and in the daring 
charges of our infantry in unmasking them. The Second Ohio 
and Second New York militia were marched by flank through 
the woods by a new-made road, within a mile of the main 
road, when they came on a battery of eight guns, with four 
regiments flanked in the rear. Our men were immediately 
ordered to lie down on either side of the road, in order to allow 
two pieces of artillery to pass through and attack the work, 
when this battery opened upon us, and killed, on the third 
round. Lieutenant Dempsey, of company G, New York Second, 



OF THE WAR. 179 

and William Maxwell, a drummer, and seriously wounding 
several others. Our troops were kept for fifteen or twenty 
minutes under a galling fire, they not being able to exchange 
shots with the enemy, although within a stone's throw of their 
batteries. They succeeded in retiring in regular order, and 
with their battery. 

The most gallant charge of the day was made by the New 
York Sixty-ninth, Seventy-ninth, and Thirteentli, who rushed 
up upon one of the batteries, firing as they proceeded, with 
perfect eclat^ and attacking it with the bayonet's point. The 
yell of triumph seemed to carry all before it They found 
that the rebels had abandoned the battery, and only taken one 
gun, but this success was acquired only after a severe loss of 
life, in which the Sixty-ninth most severely suffered. The 
Zouaves also distinguished themselves by their spirited assaults 
on the batteries, at the point of the bayonet. 

Colonel Cameron seemed to have a presentiment of his 
death. In a conversation with him at his tent, on the evening 
prior to the battle, he said that he had accepted the command 
of the gallant Highlanders because he admired them, and inas- 
much as he had only a short time to live, he might as well 
devote it to his country. He asked a con-espondent whether 
he was going to the battle-field. Receiving an affirmative 
answer, he said : " Good bye, God bless you. We may meet 
again, but I am afraid not in this world." Som.e sixteen hours 
afterwards the gallant Colonel was shot from his horse and 
killed. 

A member of the Sixty-ninth thus wrote of the services of 
that splendid regiment (composed wholly of Irish, drawn from 
the City of New York, and commanded by Colonel Corcoran) : 

" About ten o'clock we discovered two batteries, and drove 
the enemy out. The Sixty -ninth advanced. We went ofi* at 
a run, but could not overtake the enemy, as they scattered in 
every direction through the woods. We kept up the run, 
turned to the right, waded through streams, climbed steep 
hills, left our battery behind us, and out-flanked the enemy, 
and came on them when we were not expected The Louisiana 



180 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Zouaves were doing big damage when we came on tliem. "We 
gave a yell that could be heard far above the roar of the can- 
non. We fired into them, and charged them with tlie bayonet. 
They were panic-striken and fled. We covered the field with 
their dead. Haggarty rushed forward to take a prisoner, and 
lost his life. The man turned and shot him through the heart. 
We drove the enemy before us for some distance, then got into 
line and had them surrounded. General McDowell came up 
just then, took oft" his hat, and said, ' You have gained the 
victory.' Our next fly was at a South Carolina regiment. We 
killed about three hundred of them. After fighting^ hard for 
some time, we cleared the field of all the enemy. The enemy 
again rallying, the real fight then commenced. We were drawn 
up in line, and saw the other regiments trying to take the 
masked batteries. They were cut to pieces and scattered. We 
were then ordered forward to attack the batteries. We fought 
desperately, but we were cut down. We lost our flag, but 
took it back again with the assistance of a few of the Firemen 
Zouaves, who fought like devils. We charged a second time, 
but were mowed down by the grape and rifle of the enemy. 
We came together again, to make another charge, but we could 
not get together over two hundred men. We formed into a 
hollow square, when we saw the enemy turn out their cavalry, 
about a mile in length, and the hills all about covered with 
them, trying to surround us. All the regiments on our side 
were scattered and in disorder, except what were left of the 
Sixty -ninth. The Fire Zouaves had to retreat, leaving a num- 
ber of wounded on the field. What we could gather together 
of our regiment marched back to Fort Corcoran during the 
night." 

Governor Sprague, of Ehode Island, had two horses killed 
under him during the action. After the first one was killed, 
by his head being shot away by a cannon-ball, his men came 
around him and insisted upon his going to the rear. This he 
positively refused to do, and continued throughout the engage- 
ment at the head of his brigade, gallantly leading them on 
and encouraging their eftbrts. 



OF THE WAR. 181 

Colonel Cowdin, of the First Massachusetts regiment, was 
leaning his back against a tree in a very exposed position, 
when a friend expostulated with him for his recklessnesa 
The Colonel said the bullet was not moulded that would shoot 
him that day. In a few seconds after, another personal friend 
came up, and putting out his hand to the Colonel, the latter 
stooped a little to grasp it, when a conical cannon-ball struck 
on the spot where an instant before was the head of Colonel 
Cowdin, shattering the tree into splinters. The Colonel 
turned about calmly and remarked, " that he was certain that 
the ball that would kill him was not yet cast ;" and proceeded 
to issue his commands. 

The brave conduct of Colonel Hunter, commanding the 
Second division, deserves special notice. He was shot in the 
throat, while directing in person the Second Rhode Island 
regiment, in its gallant assault upon a battery. Just before 
being wounded, he had given an order to one of his aids for a 
distant regiment The aid was about galloping off, when he 
saw the Colonel fall from his horse. He immediately came to 
his assistance, but the Colonel motioned him off, telling him 
" deliver jour order, and never mind me — I will take care of 
myself" 

Lieutenant-Colonel Boone, of Mississippi, one of the few 
prisoners taken by our troops, states that had the Union troops 
held their ground on the other side of Bull Run for half-an- 
hour longer, the entire rebel army would have given way. 

A Mississippi soldier was taken prisoner by Hasbrouck, of 
the Wisconsin Second regiment He turned out to be Briga- 
dier-Quartermaster Pryor. He was captured, with his horse, 
as he by accident rode into our lines. He discovered himself 
by remarking to Hasbrouck, " We are getting badly cut to 
pieces." " What regiment do you belong to ?" asked Has- 
brouck. " The Nineteenth Mississippi," was the answer. 
" Then, you are my prisoner," said Hasbrouck. 

The Fire Zouaves received the special attention of the " Black 
Horse Cavalry" — the pride of the Southern army, who had 
Q 



182 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

sworn to wipe out the " red devils" from New York, The 
story of their assault was thus told : 

" They came upon the Zouave regiment at a gallop, and 
were received by the brave firemen upon their poised bayo- 
nets, follow^ed instantly by a volley, from which they broke 
and fled, though several of the Zouaves were cut down in the 
assault They quickly returned, with their forces doubled — 
perhaps six or seven hundred — and again they dashed with 
fearful yells upon the excited Zouaves. This time they bore 
an American flag, and a part of the Zouaves supposed for an 
instant that they were friends, whom they had originally mis- 
taken. The flag was quickly thrown down, however, the 
horses dashed upon the regiment, the ruse was discovered, 
and the slaughter commenced. No quarter, no halting, no 
flinching now, marked the rapid and death-dealing blows of 
our men, as they closed in upon the foe, in their madness and 
desperation. Our brave fellows fell, the ranks filled up, the 
sabers, bowie-knives and bayonets glistened in the sunhght, 
horse after horse went down, platoon after platoon disappeared 
— the rattle of musketry, the screams of the rebels, the shout 
of ' Eemember Ellsworth !' from the lungs of the Zouaves, and 
the yells of the wounded and crushed belligerents filled the 
air, and a terrible carnage succeeded. The gallant Zouaves 
fought to the death, and were sadly cut up ; but of those 
hundreds of Black Horse Guards, not many left that bloody 
recounter !" 

When the Fire Zouaves stormed the masked battery at Bull 
Run, and were forced to fall back by the grapeshot and cav- 
alry charge, one of them was stunned by a blow from a saber, 
and fell almost under one of the enemy's guns. The Seces- 
sionists swarmed around him like bees, but feigning death, in 
the excitement he was unnoticed, and when a sally was made, 
managed to crawl back into the thicket inside the Confederate 
lines. Here he waited some time for an opportunity to escape, 
but finding none, concluded he would make the best of a bad 
bargain, and if he was lost, would have a little revenge before- 



OF THE WAR. 18o 

hand. Hastily stripping tlie body of a Confederate near by, 
he donned his uniform, and seizing a rifle, made liis way to 
the intrenchments, where he joined the Secessionists, and, 
watching his opportunities, succeeded in picking off several of 
their most prominent officers whenever they advanced out 
upon the troops. Here he remained some time, until, think- 
ing it best to leave before his disguise should be discovered, 
he joined a party who were about to charge upon our forces, 
and was, to his gratification, again captured, but this time by 
his own men. 

A remarkable incident was related of a private of the New 
York Twenty-eighth regiment of volunteers : He had been 
wounded in the groin, and was hobbling off the field, when he 
was pursued and overtaken by three rebels. As the foremost 
one came up he laid his hand heavily upon his shoulder. The 
soldier stumbled forward, and as he fell he drew his bayonet 
the only weapon he had — from its scabbard, with which he 
run the rebel through the body, and, at the same time, seized 
upon his captor's revolver, drew it from the belt, and shot the 
other two. He then made good his escape, and arrived safely 
at Washington. 

An Ohio paper correspondent adverted to the services of 
some of the regiments from that State in glowing strains. 
He said : 

" The Ohio regiments were in the thickest of the fight, but 
fortunately lost but few men. The First regiment, under 
Colonel McCook, has covered itself with glory. They were 
detailed at an early hour in the day to hunt up batteries, and 
they seemed to understand that work to perfection. The 
Grays were sent out as skirmishers early in the morning, and 
drove in the pickets of the rebels, and commenced the fight. 
These two Ohio regiments have been trained by Colonel 
McCook, and were frequently brought right into the very 
rano-e and front of the enemy's most terrible and formidable 
guns ; but no sooner would they see the flash than every man 
was prostrate upon his face, and the balls and grape would. 



184 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

pass harmlessly over them ; then thej would up and at them 
with a vengeance in double-quick time." 

Colonel McCook's younger brother — but seventeen years 
old — was a member of the Second Ohio regiment, and was left 
as a guard to the hospital. One of the enemy's cavalry dash- 
ed upon him and ordered him to surrender ; the bi-ave youth, 
with fixed bayonet, steady nerve, and cool bearing, replied, 
" I never surrender !" The father. Judge McCook, wlio had 
all the day been arduously engaged in assisting and taking 
care of the wounded, bringing them in from the field, and 
that, too, at the imminent peril of his own life, was in the hos- 
pital tent and heard the order to his son, and saw others of the 
enemy's cavalry near by, and rushed out, and speaking in a 
loud tone, " Charley, surrender, for God's sake, or you are 
lost." Charley turned to his father, and with all the lion in 
his countenance, replied, " Father, I will never surrender to 
a rebel." In a moment a ball pierced his spine, but he in- 
stantly discharged his musket at the rebel horseman, and laid 
him low in death, and then fell himself. The rebels then un- 
dertook to drag him off, but his father rushed in and released 
him, and he died Monday morning. His body was brought 
away by his father, and was sent to Ohio for burial. The 
Colonel McCook above alluded to was afterwards the well 
known General McCook in Halleck's army. 

Colonel W. R Montgomery, for thirty years an efficient offi- 
cer of the United States Army, who had seen service where- 
ever during that time it was to be seen, was in command of 
the First New Jersey regiment. In the midst of the torrent 
of the retreat, he stemmed its tide, forced his regiment in good 
order through its surge of men and horses and wagons, which 
carried back with them his associate regiment, the Second 
New Jersey, Colonel McLean, but had no effect on him. 
With exhortations, remonstrances and bayonets, he checked, 
but could not stop the disastrous flight. Abandoned by Colo- 
nel McLean and the Second, he pressed on alone, and alone 
his regiment reached the field, and took the post which his 



OF THE WAR. 185 

orders indicated, formed in square to receive the enemy's cav- 
alry, and staid Jive hours on the battle-field loaiting for orders. 

With regard to this flight, much was, at the time, written as 
to the bad effects of the civilians present. It was stated and 
believed that their scampering away from danger first alarmed 
the teamsters, and thus produced the panic. It would appear 
that a few men here and there in citizens' dress, could have 
very little to do in creating a panic, even if they did run. 
But testimony is abundant that these non-professional sol- 
diers really acted a noble part — that they, in reality, greatly 
aided in restraining the headlong flight of brave regiments 
from the battle-field. An eye-witness wrote to the National 
Intelligencer : " Whatever credit there was in stopping that 
rout, is due wholly to Senators Wade and Chandler ; Eepre- 
sentatives Blake, E-iddle and Morris ; Mr. Brown, Sergeant-at- 
Arms of the Senate ; Mr. Eaton of Detroit, and Thomas Brown 
of Cleveland. These gentlemen, armed with Maynard rifles 
and navy revolvers, sj)rang suddenly from their carriages some 
three miles this side of Centreville, and, presenting their wea- 
pons, ill loud voices commanded the fugitives to halt and turn 
back. Their bold and determined manner brought most at that 
point to a stand-still. Many on horseback attempted to dash 
by them, and had their horses seized by the bits. Some of 
the fugitives were armed, and menaced these gentlemen ; and 
one, a powerful man, supposed to be a teamster, shot Mr. Eaton 
through the wrist, as he held his horse by the bridle-rein. 
None, however, were permitted to pass, except an army cou- 
rier, who exhibited his dispatches. Mr. AVade and his party 
held the crowd until the arrival of the First New Jersey regi- 
ment, then on its way toward the battle-ground, the Colonel 
of which turned back the flying soldiers and teamsters. Two 
or three officers were stopped and turned back." We are glad 
to record this, to so well-known men, pimple justice. Congress- 
man Ely, of New York, was taken prisoner in his efforts to 
keep the men up to the assault. 

General McDowell was so overcome by fatigue, that while 
writing a short dispatch in the telegraph office, at Fairfax, ho 

Q2 2J: 



186 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

fell asleep three times. He had been busy all the night pre- 
ceding in making preliminary arrangements, and had been in 
the saddle from two o'clock in the morning until ten at night 
At nine and a half o'clock his dispatch was received at Wash- 
ington, announcing his retreat, and his purpose to make a 
stand at Centreville. At one and a half A. M. it was an- 
nounced that he would fall back to Fairfax. It was left 
to his own judgment whether to retire to the Potomac line 
or not. 

Eegarding the barbarity of the rebels, the stories told almost 
defied belief The New York Herald correspondent wrote : 
" The barbarity practiced by the rebels towards wounded men 
in this encounter, throws to the winds the boasted chivalry of 
the South, and their assumption of Samaritan tenderness. 
They trampled the wounded and dying victims of their pow- 
der and lead to the ground — fired upon nurses engaged in car- 
rying away the mortally wounded — threw hot shot into build- 
ings used as hospitals, setting fire to them. The rebels 
engaged with our forces at Bull's Eun committed all those 
diabolical deeds, which have, as yet, only been equalled by the 
East India Sepoys and the Tartai's of old. They commenced 
these acts on Thursday, this side of Bull's Eun, on the wound- 
ed of the First Massachusetts and Twelfth New York volun- 
teer regiments, and continued it on Sunday." 

The Boston Post wrote : 

" But where shall we find words, in this enlightened age, 
to reprobate the infamy of their conduct, after their success, 
toward our noble soldiers ! Are soldiers turned butchers ? 
Is their boasted chivalry a mockery ? Who can read without 
a thrill of horror the loathsome reports of their brutalitv. The 
wounded are fired into while mangled lying on the field — the 
bleeding soldiers are tied to trees and bayoneted — the weapons 
of the fallen soldier are taken from him and plunged into him, 
dead or dying. A Union soldier takes up the wounded rebel, 
ministers to him a cup of cold water, and the dastard dis- 
patches his benefactor while in the act ! To what depths of 
barbarism have American soldiers stooped in their treatment 



71 



OF THE WAR. 187 

of their fellow-citizens ! The blood of the wronged and the 
outraged cries aloud for vengeance." 

The incident of soldiers sending home Zouave skulls as tro- 
phies — of Zouaves having their heads cut off and put upon 
poles — confirmed bj repeated proofs — will ever remain on 
record to add to the weight of infamy which attaches to the 
Southern cause. 



XVIII. 



GENERAL McCLELLAN. 

The reverse at Bull Run so disorganized — if not demora- 
lized — our army of the Potomac, as to render an acting General- 
in-Chief necessary. All eyes turned, instinctively, to General 
McClellan, whose Western Virginia Campaign had just closed, 
to crown him with the laurels of a great commander. His 
energy, his knowledge of his profession, his physical strength, 
the prestige of his name, all combined to render him qualified 
for the responsible trust of bringing order out of that chaos at 
and around Washington ; and he was called immediately (July 
22d) to the General command of the field— a position he 
assumed August 1st, 1861. 

I'he position since filled so eminently by this General, has 
rendered his reputation world-wide, and renders a sketch of his 
life eminently proper, if we would answer the interest now felt 
in his life ; we therefore compile from such sources as are 
available, the following : 

George B. McClellan, the son of an eminent physician at 
Philadelphia, was born in that city, December 3d, 1826. At 
the age of sixteen, or in 1842, he entered the West Point 



188 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Academy, and graduated in 1846, at tlie age of twenty, at the 
liead of bis class. On the 1st of July of that year, his title 
was Brevet Second Lieutenant of Ens-ineers. 

This was the period of the Mexican war, and McClellan, 
about the age of Alexander Hamilton when he began to show 
extraordinary ability, was called into active service. Congress 
(May 15th, 1816) had passed an act, adding a company of 
sappers, miners, and pontoniers to the corps of engineers, and 
McClellan was made Second Lieutenant in this company. 
Colonel Totten names with warm apx)robation his great exer- 
tions, with two others, in organizing and drilling this corps. 
As the recruits assembled at West Point, they were at once 
put into a course of active drill as infantry, and of practical 
instruction in making the different materials used in sieges, 
running saps, and forming jDontoons ; and, through the exer- 
tions of three officers only, when they sailed from West Point 
(September 24th) seventy-one strong, the Colonel says they 
were " in admirable discipline." This company was first 
ordered to report to General Taylor, and went to Camargo, but 
were then ordered to countermarch to Matamoras, and move 
with the column of Patterson. Here Captain Swift and nine- 
teen men were left in the hospital, and from that time until a 
few days before the landing at Vera Cruz, the company was 
under Lieutenant Smith (Gustavus W. Smith, now a Major- 
General in the rebel army), who had but one other officer, 
Lieutenant McClellan. " During the march," Colonel Totten 
says, " to Vitoria from Matamoras, the company, then reduced 
to forty-five effectives, executed a great amount of work upon 
the roads, fords, etc., as it did in proceeding thence to Tampico, 
when it formed, with one company of the Third and one of the 
Seventh infantry, a pioneer party, under Captain Henry of the 
Third infantry. The detailed reports of these labors exhibit 
the greatest efficiency and excellent discipline under sevei-e 
and trying circumstances, Lieutenant Smith having then but 
one officer. Lieutenant McClellan, under his command." 

Colonel Totten at Vera Cruz, saw this company, now re- 
joined by its captain, land with the first line on the beach 



OF THE WAR. 189 

under General "Wortli, and its service here. " During the sie^e 
of Vera Cruz," Colonel Totten says, "I was witness to the 
great exertions and service of this company, animated by and 
emulating the zeal and devotion of its excellent officers, Lieu- 
tenants Smith, McClellan, and Foster." Until the surrender 
of the Castle, Lieutenant McClellan was engaged in the most 
severe and trying duties, in opening paths and roads to facili- 
tate the investment, in covering reconnoisances, and in the 
unceasing toil and hardship of the trenches. " The total of 
the company," Colonel Totten writes, "was so small, and 
demands for its aid so incessant, that every man may be said 
to have been constantly on duty, with scarcely a moment for 
rest or refreshment." Captain Swift was still too ill for such 
labors, and died soon afterwards ; but. Colonel Totten remarks, 
the other officers directed " the operations of the siege with 
unsurpassed intelligence and zeal." 

Such is the record of the experience, at the age of twenty, 
of the soldier called to the command of the Army of the Po- 
tomac. Let the next be related in the official words of Colonel 
Totten : 

" Severe labors followed the surrender of Vera Cruz and its castle, and 
accompanied the march to the battle of Cerro Gordo, in which the com- 
pany displayed, in various parts of the field, its gallantry and efficiency. 
It entered the city of Jalapa with the advance of Twiggs' division, and 
Puebla with the advance of Worth's. During the jjuuse at the latter 
place, the instruction of the company in its appropriate studies and ex- 
ercises was resumed by its persevering and zealous officers, and assist- 
ance was given by all in the reijairs of the defenses. Marching from 
Puebla with General Twiggs' division, the company was joined to 
General Worth at Chalon, and arrived in front of San Antonio on the 
18th of August, having greatly assisted in clearing the road of obstruc- 
tions placed by the enemy." 

The company, on the 19th, was ordered to take the head of 
General Pillow's column, at St. Augustine. The service of the 
company was notable, and is specified all along in the official 
reports. Before the day of Contreras, General Twiggs, on 
discovering his enemy in a naturally strong position, with 
breastworks that commanded approach in every direction, dis- 



190 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

patched two engineers to reconnoitre, one of whom was Lieu- 
tenant McClellan. They were stopped by the Mexican pickets, 
had their horses shot under them, and were compelled to 
return. The action soon commenced — the battle of Contreras 
in which Lieutenant McClellan was with Magruder's battery, 
which rendered splendid service. In his official report, Gen- 
eral Twiggs thus writes : 

"Lieutenant George B. McClellan, after Lieutenant Calendar was 
wounded, took charge of and managed the howitzer battery (Lieutenant 
Reno being detached with the rockets) with' judgment and success, 
until it became so disabled as to require shelter. For Lieutenant 
McClellan's efficiency and gallantry in this affair, I present his name for 
the favorable consideration of the General-in-Chief." 

After a night of exposure to a pitiless storm, the army 
fought the next day, August 20th, the battle of Cherubusco ; 
and that fine soldier. General Persifer F. Smith, thus completes 
the record of McClellan : 

" Lieutenant G. W. Smith, in command of the engineer company, and 
Lieutenant McClellan, his subaltern, distinguished themselves through- 
out the whole of the three actions. Nothing seemed to them too bold 
to be undertaken, or too difficult to be executed, and their services as 
engineers Avcre as valuable as those they rendered in battle, at the head 
of their gallant men." 

For his conduct on that day McClellan was breveted First 
Lieutenant. 

Lieutenant McClellan was breveted Captain for gallant and 
meritorious conduct in the next battle, El Molino del Eey ; 
but declining, he was still Lieutenant on the great day of 
Chepultepec, and the General-in-Chief, naming him with four 
others, uses these words : " Those five lieutenants of engineers 
won the admiration of all about them." His name appears in 
the official reports in connection with varied and most arduous 
service. On the night of the 11th of September, Captain Lee 
and Lieutenants Tower, Smith, and McClellan, with a company 
of sappers, were employed in establishing batteries against 
Chepultepec, which were actively served during the next day 
(12th), which was the day before the assault 



OF THE WAR. 191 

Lieutenant McClellan, long before daybreak of the 13th, was 
in the field, and Major Smith, of the Engineer Corps, thus says 
of his morning s work : " At three o'clock a party of the sap- 
pers moved to the large convent in advance, and found it 
unoccupied. Lieutenant McClellan advanced with a party 
into the Alamada, and reported, at daylight, that no enemy 
was to be seen. The sappers then moved forward, and had 
reached two squares beyond the Alamada, when they were 
recalled. This company was under senior Lieutenant Smith, 
and was engaged during the day in street fighting, until three 
o'clock in the afternoon, and particularly in breaking into 
houses with crowbars and axes. Major Smith says : " Lieutenant 
McClellan had command of a company for a time in the after- 
noon, while Lieutenant Smith was searching for powder to be 
used in blov/ing up houses from which our troops had been 
fired upon contrary to the usages of war. During this time, 
while advancing in company, he reached a strong position, but 
found himself opposed to a large force of the enemy. He had 
a conflict with this force, which lasted some time ; but the 
advantage afforded by his position enabled him at length to 
drive it oif, after having killed more than twenty of its 
number." 

Such is the official record of McClellan, so far as bnlliant 
special service is concerned. This, however, can convey no 
just idea of the labor and skill that are required, in order that 
lasting honor may be conferred on the country. It is the 
every day life of the officer that is keenly watched by the 
men ; and what is said of McClellan is, that it was so marked 
by thoroughness as to command confidence, and so filled with 
sympathy as to win esteem. Chief-Engineer Totten thus gives 
in general his term of service : " Lieutenant McClellan, on duty 
with the engineer company from its organization at West 
Point ; in the siege of Vera Cruz, and in all the battles of 
General Scott's march to the city of Mexico." The company 
left that city May 23d, 1848, marched to Vera Cruz, and 
arrived at West Point on the 22d of June. 

Lieutenant McClellan was breveted captain for gallant and 



192 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

meritorious conduct in battle at Chepultepec, and the following 
3'-ear (1848) saw him commander of this great company of 
sappers and miners and pontoniers. He continued here until 
1851, but the military routine was not enough for him. Dur- 
ing this period he translated from the French, a manual, which 
has become the text book of the service, and introduced the 
bayonet exercise into the army.^ 

Captain McClcllan's next service was to superintend the con- 
struction of Fort Delaware, in the fall of 1851 ; in the spring 
of 1852 he was assigned to duty imder Major Marcy in the 
expedition that explored the Red River ; and then ordered as 
senior engineer to Texas, on the staff of General P. F. Smith, 
with whom he was engaged in surveying the rivers and har- 
bors of that State. 

Captain McClellan, in tlie next year, was one of the engi- 
neers who were ordered to make explorations and surveys to 
ascertain the most practicable route for a railroad from the 
Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean ; and among other 
duties, he made the reconnoissance of the Vakima Pass, among 
the Rocky Mountains, and the most direct route to Puget 
Sound. He was associated in the exploration of the forty- 
seventh and fort3^-nintli parallels of north latitude with Gover- 
nor Stevens, of Oregon, f The Secretary of War, Jefferson 
Davis, in his official report to Congress, says of McClellan's 
services : 

" The examination of the approaches and passes of the Cas- 
cade Mountains, made by Captain McClellan, of the corps of 

* See Victor's Life of McClellan — Dime Biograj^liical Series, No. 12, 
page 25. 

t The results of these laborious surveys on the northern route, formed 
Vol. I. of the twelve large quartos published by Congress. The other 
volumes were devoted to the exploration of various other routes and 
sections — the entire series forming a very exhaustive examination of the 
vast wilds between the valley of the Mississippi and the western declivity 
of the continent. The West Point education of the explorers proved in 
an eminent degree satisfactory. The surveys demonstrated that its 
graduates were qualified for almost any duty. 



OF THE WAPw. 193 

engineers, presents a reconnoissance of gTeat value, and, tliougli 
performed under adverse circumstances, exhibits all the infor- 
mation necessary to determine the practicability of this portion 
of the route, and reflects the highest credit on the capacity 
and resources of that officer." Nor was this the whole service 
of this indomitable public servant. In this report, its closing 
words, Secretary Davis sa_^s : " Captain McCIellan, of the 
coriDs of engineers, after the completion of his field operations, 
was directed to visit various railroads, and to collect informa- 
tion and facts established in the construction and workinsr 
of existing roads, to sei-ve as data in determining the practi- 
cability of constructing and working roads over the several 
routes explored. Tlie results of his inquiries will be found in 
a very valuable memoir herewith submitted." 

This allusion to McClellan's labors, succeeding the survey, 
deserves farther mention. He was chosen to investigate the 
railway system of the United States, with a view to obtain all 
the data on construction, equipping and running, necessary to 
give the Pacific Eailway the benefit of all recent experience 
and discoveries in its construction, and operation. This duty 
occupied the summer of 1854. McCIellan not only visited 
the chief railways in the Northei'n States, and inspected them 
thoroughly, but he called to his aid the knowledge and assist- 
ance of several of the best engineers and machinists in the 
country. He thus was enabled to report in a very complete 
manner — his report, in truth, being a treatise on railways 
which possessed value as such to the railway interests of the 
country. The report was rendered early in November, 1854, 
and gave to the Department entire satisfaction. Its complete- 
ness proved to railroad managers and directors of so much 
interest, that when, a few years later, McCIellan resigned his 
commission in the army, railway men sought and obtained his 
services in the management of two of the largest enterprises in 
the country. 

To this engineering service succeeded, for three years, other 
duties which lai-gely raised the reputation of Captain McCIel- 
lan. After executing a secret service in the West Indies, and 
K 25 



194 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

receiving a commission in the United States cavalry, he was 
appointed, April 2d, 1855, one of a military commission of 
three officers, to proceed to the Crimea and Northern Kussia 
for observation on the then existing war ; and his report " On 
the Organization of European Armies and the Operation of 
the War," evinced so much grasp of the subject, as to add to 
the reputation of a brave and efiSicient officer in the field, that 
of a large comprehension of the science of war. 

The record of this tour in Europe is one of exceeding inter- 
est even to the general reader. The three officers composing 
it were Major Delafield, Major Mordecai and Captain McClel- 
lan — who were constituted a commission to proceed to Europe 
and the seat of War in the Crimea to inspect forts, armories, 
foundries, &;c. ; to examine into military systems and organ- 
izations ; to study the conduct of a campaign on the field ; 
to inquire into the special forms of rifled arms and ordnance 
then being introduced ; to study harbor and coast defenses, 
&c., &c. That the duty was ably performed, the country is 
proud to bear witness. The three separate reports made by 
the officers, viz. : On ordnance, gunnery, construction, armo- 
ries, &c., by Major Mordecai ; on army organization, defenses, 
field service, &c., by Major Delafield ; on cavalry, infantry, 
discipline, barracks, &c., by McClellan, whose report also con- 
tained a fine disquisition on operations before Sebastopol, 
which proved how critically he studied and apprehended the 
whole art of war. McClellan's report was the first of the three 
submitted — appearing under date of February 25th, 1857. 
The character of the volume will better appear from a citation 
of its contents, viz. : 

" Report on the operations in the Crimea, with an historical sketch of 
the campaign, and strictures on its conduct. 

" Report upon the European troops, embracing a resume of the systems 
of the Russians, Prussians, Austrians, French and English. 

" Report upon the French, Austrian, Prussian and Sardinian infantry, 
•with a digest of their composition, regulations, &c. 

"Report upon the Russian army, comprising 1st, organization, uni- 
form, recruiting stations, etc. ; 2d, the instruction and tactics of cavalry; 



OF THE WAR. 195 

3d, the equii^ments, arms, stables, horses, etc., of cavalry ; 4th, the Rus- 
sian Infantry 

" Report on the Prussian cavalry. 

" Report on the Austrian cavalry. 

" Report on the French cavalrj'. 

" Report on the English and Sardinian cavalry. 

" Report on the United States cavalry." 

This was also followed (in tlie same volume) by ^^The Regu- 
lations and Lutructions for the Field Service of Cavalry, in time 
of war, for the United States Armyy 

The several reports were very full expositions of the several 
systems in use in the best armies, and serve to show how inti- 
mately acquainted Captain McClellan was with the subject in 
all its features. His final report, devoted to the United States 
cavalry, was an embodiment of his suggestions in regard to its 
reorganization, so as to adapt it to the improved condition of 
that arm of service as perfected by the European nations. The 
last section of the volume, as stated, was devoted to a manual 
of instruction and regulations for the United States army cav- 
alry. In the preface modestly announcing his work the au- 
thor said : 

"I have translated from the original Russian, and have endeavored 
to adapt them (the regulations, etc.) to our own oi-ganization, preserving 
the original arrangement, and adding merely a few minor details sug- 
gested by the recollections of former readings and of service in the 
field. It is more than probable tliat they will be found to fill usefully 
an important w^ant in our military literature : ■while they undoubtedly 
are based upon true military principles." 

This adverts to the fact of the writer's acquaintance with the 
Eussian language. While in Russia the Captain was an ardu- 
ous student of that uncouth and severe idiom of the descend- 
ants of the Tartars ; and £0 readily mastered its lingual and 
idiomatic structure as to be able to converse without difficulty 
with the native Russ. Already a thorough French scholar 
from his West Point education, with a good command of Spa- 
nish, and a reading knowledge of German, the acquisition of 
Russian served to elevate the Captain into the categoiy of lin- 
guistic scholars. 



196 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

The "regulations" have since been republished in convenient 
12mo form for use as a text-book in the service, which it has 
become — making the second manual from his hand. 

And now, as there was no call by his country for service in 
the field, he resigned (1857) his position in the army, but still 
kept, as it were, in the line of his profession of engineer, for 
he became Vice-President and Engineer of the Illinois Central 
Railroad. Having served here three years, so much valued 
were his services that he was chosen General Superintendent 
of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, in which capacity he was 
acting when the rebellion broke out. He was tendered the 
Major-Generalship of the Ohio State forces, and, a little later, 
Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, also endeavored to secure 
his services in organizing the volunteers of that State. He 
accepted, however, the earliest offer of Ohio, and very promptly 
organised the militia of that State in a manner so original and 
efficient as to elicit the warmest encomiums. No State in the 
Union has a citizen soldiery truer to the duties of both citizen 
and soldier than Ohio under the system inaugurated by Mc- 
Lellan. 

As stated by us, in a former section of this work, on the 14th 
day of May, 1861, he was assigned to the command of the De- 
partment of the West. From that date the record of his life 
up to the date (Aug. 1st) when he assumed command of the 
army of the Potomac, is written in the sketch already given of 
the Campaign of Western Virginia. 

In private circles the General is known as an amiable man 
and a gentleman of the true kind. He is married — his wife 
being the daughter of General Marcy, U. S. A. She is a lady 
of many virtues of head and heart. The General is, we believe, 
a communicant in the Presbyterian (Old School) denomination. 



XIX. 



THE THIRD DISASTER. 

The Ball Bluff defeat, October 21st, 1861, was a melan- 
choly affair resulting not only in disaster to our arms but in 
great loss of life, owing to a deficiency of transportation. Men 
were pressed by superior numbers back upon the river, (the 
Potomac,) there to find no adequate provision made for their 
safe passage over. Many were, therefore, killed in making a 
last desperate stand at the rivers bank, many plunged into 
the river only to be swept down by the current, many were 
taken prisoners — disasters which came after the battle was 
closed by defeat. The ranks of the regiments came forth from 
the conflict literally riddled, and their gallant leader. Colonel 
Baker, was among the slain. It was not a Bull's Eun stam- 
pede ; but a fearful sacrifice of men whose devotion and cour- 
age rendered their loss all the m.ore keenly deplored. 

For scA^eral days prior to the 21st, the brigades on the right 
bank of the Potomac, above the Chain Bridge and the Falls 
of the Potomac, had been pushed up in the direction of Lees- 
burg. These brigades, however, commanded by General 
McCall, did not advance further than Drainesville, twelve 
miles south-east of Leesburg, although their scouts were push- 
ed forward to Goose Creek, four miles from that place. On 
Saturday and Sunday General McCall made two reconnois- 
sances towards Leesburg, and could find no trace of the enemy. 
The countrv people declared that the rebels had abandoned 
that place some days before. 
r2 



198 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

It was believed at Washington that Leesburg Lad been 
evacuated by the rebels, that they had retired from that place 
to Aldie, ten miles south-west, where they were fortifying. 
Aldie is a stronger position than Leesburg, for there the rebels 
could place Goose Creek between themselves and the ad- 
vancing Union troops. Goose Creek is about the size of BulFs 
Eun, but has high and steep banks, and cannot be crossed by 
artillery, except by bridges. On the right bank of the creek 
are some high hills admirably calculated for defense, and 
these, it was understood, the rebels were fortifying. These 
facts, or rather, these reports, were current in the army and in 
Washington. 

General Stone, upon his own responsibility, it would appear, 
determined upon a demonstration toward Leesburg. looking to 
its occupation. 

McCall's movement uj)on Drainesville had excited the atten- 
tion of the enemy, it appeared ; for a regiment soon appeared 
near Edwards' Ferry, evidently to watch the movements of 
Stone. This regiment took position on a hill about one mile 
and a half from the feny. It afterwards proved that the regi- 
ment was only " a blind" — that General Evans' forces, five 
thousand strong, had not evacuated Leesburg, but had fdnted 
the evacuation to draw on the Federal forces. 

Stone having completed his arrangements, October 20th, 
proceeded, at one P. M., to Edwards' Ferry, from Poolsville, 
with Gorman's brigade, the Seventh Michigan volunteers, two 
troops of the Van Alen cavalry, and the Putnam Kangers, 
sending at the same time to Harrison's Island and vicinity four 
companies of the Fifteenth Massachusetts volunteers, under 
Colonel Devens, (who had already one company on the island,) 
and Colonel Lee with a battalion of the Twentieth Massachu- 
setts. And to Conrad's Ferry, a section of Vaughn's Rhode 
Island battery and the Tammany regiment, under Colonel 
Cogswell. A section of Bunting's New York State militia 
battery, under Lieutenant Bramhall, was at the time on duty 
at Conrad's Ferry, and Rickett's battery, already posted at 
Edwards' Ferry, under Colonel Woodruff. Orders were also 



OF THE WAR. 199 

sent to Colonel Devens, at Harrison's Island, some four miles 
up the river, to detach Captain Philbrick and twenty men to 
cross from the island and explore by a path through woods 
little used, in the direction of Leesburg, to see if he could find 
anything concerning the enemy's position in that direction ; 
but to retire and report on discovering any of the enemy. 

General Gorman was ordered to deploy his forces in view of 
the enemy, and in so doing, no movement of the enemy was 
excited. Three flat-boats were ordered, and at the same time 
shell and spherical case shot was thrown into the place of the 
enemy's concealment. This was done to produce an impi-es- 
sion that a crossing was to be made. The shelling of Edwards' 
Feny, and launching of the boats, induced the quick retire- 
ment of the enemy's force seen there, and three boat-loads, of 
thirty-five men each, from the First Minnesota, under cover 
of the shelling, crossed and recrossed the river, the boats con- 
suming in crossing from three to seven minutes. The spirit 
displayed by officers and men at the thought of crossing the 
river was cheering, and satisfied the General that they could 
be depended on for gallant service. 

As darkness came on, General Stone ordered Gorman's bri- 
gade and the Seventh Michigan to fall back to their respect- 
ive camps, but retained the Tammany regiment, the compa- 
nies of the Fifteenth Massachusetts and artillery near Conrad's 
Ferry, in their position, waiting the result of Captain Phil- 
brick's scout, he (Stone) remaining with his Staff at Edwards' 
Ferry. About four p. m., Lieutenant Howe, Quartermaster 
of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, reported to General Stone 
that Captain Philbrick had returned to the island aft6r pro- 
ceeding, unmolested, to within a mile and a half of Lees- 
burg, and that he had there discovered, in the edge of a 
wood, an encampment of about thirty tents, which he ap- 
proached to within twenty- five rods without being challenged, 
the camp having no pickets out any distance in the direction 

of the river. 

General Stone at once sent orders to Colonel Devens to cross 
four companies of his regiment to the Virginia shore, and 



200 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

marcli silently, under the cover of niglit, to the position of the 
camp referred to, to attack and destroy it at daybreak, pursue 
the enemy lodged there as far as would be prudent with the 
small force, and return rapidly to the island ; his return to be 
covered by the Massachusetts Twentieth, which was directed to 
be posted on a bluff directly over the landing place. Colonel 
Devens was ordered to use this opportunity to observe the 
approaches to Leesburgh, and the position and force of the 
enemy in the vicinity, and in case he found no enemy, or found 
him only weak and in a position where he could observe well 
and be secure until his party could be strengthened sufficiently 
to make a valuable reconnoissance, which should safely ascer- 
tain the position and force of the enemy, to hold on and report. 
Orders were dispatohed to Colonsl Baker, to send the First 
California regiment to Conrad's Ferry, to arrive there at sun- 
rise, and to have the remainder of his brigade in a state of 
readiness to move after an early breakfast. Also to Lieutenant- 
Colonel Ward, of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, to move with a 
battalion of a regiment to the river bank opposite Ilairison s 
Island, to arrive there by daybreak. Two mounted howitzers, 
from Eickett's battery, were detailed to the tow-path opposite 
Harrison's Island. 

In order to distract attention from Colonel Devens' move- 
ment, and at the same time to effect reconnoissance in the 
direction of Leesbui'gh from Edwards' Ferry, General Stone 
ordered General Gorman to throw across the river at that 
point, two companies of First Minnesota, under cover of fire 
from Rickett's battery, and sent a party of thirty-one Van Alen 
cavalry, under command of Major Mix, accompanied by Cap- 
tain Charles Stewart, Assistant Adjutant- Genei-al ; Captain 
Murphy, Lieutenants Pierce and Gouraud, with orders to 
advance along Leesburgh road until they should come to the 
vicinity of the batter}^, which was known to be on that road, 
and then turn to the left, and examine the heights between 
that and Goose Creek ; see if any of the enemy were posted in 
that vicinity, ascertain as near as possible their number and 
disposition, examine the country with reference to the passage 



I 



OF THE WAR. 201 

of troops to tlie Leesburgb. and Georgetown turnpike, and 
return rapidly to cover bebind tbe skirmisbers of tbe First 
Minnesota. 

Tbis reconnoissance was most gallantly made by all in tbe 
party, wbicb proceeded along tbe Leesburgb road nearly tbree 
miles from tbe ferry, and wben near tbe position of a bidden 
battery, came suddenly on a Mississippi regiment about thirty- 
five yards distant, received its fire and returned it witb tbeir 
pistols. Tbe fire of tbe enemy killed ol e borse, but Lieutenant 
Gouraud, tbe gallant Adjutant of tbe cavalry battalion, seized 
tbe dismounted man, and drawing bim on bis borse bebind 
bim carried bim safely from tbe field. One private of tbe 
Fourtb Virginia cavalry was brougbt off by tbe party, and as 
be was well mounted and armed, bis mount replaced tbe one 
lost by tbe fire of tbe enemy. 

Meantime Colonel Devens on tbe rigbt, baving in pursuance 
of bis orders arrived at tbe position indicated by the scouts 
as tbe site of tbe enemy's camp, found that they bad been 
deceived by tbe uncertain light, and bad mistaken tbe open- 
ings in tbe trees for a row of tents. He found however, wood, 
in wbicb be concealed bis force from view, and proceeded to 
examine tbe space between that and Leesburgb, sending back 
word to General Stone, that tbus far be could see no enemy. 
Immediately on receipt of tbis intelligence, wbicb was carried 
by Lieutenant Howe, Quartermaster of the Fifteenth Massa- 
cbusett, General Stone ordered a non-commissioned officer and 
ten cavalry to join Colonel Devens, for the purpose of scoiiring 
tbe country near bim, wbile be continued bis reconnoissance, 
and to give bim due notice of tbe approacb of any enemy, and 
that Lieutenant- Colonel Ward, witb bis battalion of tbe Fif- 
teentb Massachusetts, should move on to Smart's Mill, half a- 
mile to tbe rigbt of the crossing- place of Colonels Devens and 
Lee, where, in strong position, be could watch and protect tbe 
flank of Colonel Devens on bis return, and secure a second 
crossing-place more favorable than the first, and connected by 
a good road witb Leesburgb. 
26 



202 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Captain Candy, Assistant Adjutant- General, and General 
Lander, accompanied the cavahy, to serve witli it. 

The battalion under Colonel Ward was detained on the 
bluff in the rear of Colonel Deven, instead of being directed to 
the right. 

Stone said in his official report : " For some reason never 
explained to me, neither of these orders were carried out. The 
cavalry v/ere transferred to the Virginia shore, but were sent 
back without having left the shore to go inland, and thus 
Colonel Devens was deprived of the means of obtaining warn- 
ing of any approach of the enemy." The report then went on 
to state the orders given to Colonel Baker, under which he 
acted, viz. : 

" Colonel Baker having arrived at Conrad's Ferry, witli tlie First 
California regiment at an early hour, proceeded to Edwards' Ferry, and 
reported to me in person, stating that his regiment was at the former 
place, and the three other regiments of his brigade ready to march. I 
directed him to Harrison's Island to assume command, and in a full 
conversation explained to him the position as it then stood. I told him 
that General McCall had advanced his troops to Drainsville, and that I 
was extremely desirous of ascertaining the exact position and force of 
the enemy in our front, and exploring, as for as it was safe, on the right 
towards Leesburgh, and on the left towards the Lcesburgh and Gum 
Spring road. I also informed Colonel Baker that General Gorman, oppo- 
site Edwards' Ferry, should be reenforced, and that I would make every 
effort to push Gorman's troops carefully forward, to discover the best 
line from that Ferry to the Leesburgh and Gum Spring road, already 
mentioned, and the position of the breastworks and hidden batteries, 
which prevented the movement of troops directly from left to right, 
were also pointed out to him. 

" The means of transportation across, of the sufficiency of which he 
(Baker) was to be the judge, was detailed, and authority given him to 
make use of the guns of a section each of Vaughan's and Bunting's bat- 
teries, together with French's mountain howitzers (of Riokett' battery), 
all the troops of his brigade and the Tammany regiment, beside the 
Nineteenth and part of the Twentieth regiments of Massachusetts volun- 
teers. I left it to his discretion, after viewing the ground, to retire 
from the Virginia shore under the cover of his guns and tiie tire of the 
iaro-e infantry force, or to pass our recnforcements in case he found it 



OF THE WAR. 203 

practicable, and the position on the other side favorable. I stated that 
I wished no advance made unless the enemy were of inferior force, and 
under no circumstance to pass beyond Leesburgh, or a strong position 
between it and Goose Creek, on the Gum Spring, i. e., the Manasses 
road. Colonel Baker was cautioned in reference to passing artillery 
across the river, and I begged, if he did so, to see it well supported l)y 
good infantry. The General pointed out to him the position of some 
bluffs on this side of the river, from which artillery could act with effect 
on the other, and. leaving the matter of crossing more troops or retiring 
what were already over, to his discretion, gave him entire control of 
operations on the right. This gallant and energetic officer left me about 
nine a. m, or half-i)ast nine, and galloped of quickly to his command." 
This statement is precise, and if Colonel Baker was caught 
without transports for a retreat, was surprised bj an ovcr- 
whehning force which cut off his retreat, in part, it was not 
General Stone's fault, if the orders explicitly detailed above 
were given and were understood. Baker's friends as explicitly 
state that he undertook the enterprize, conscious that he should 
be overwhelmed, and that he so expressed himself to General 
Stone, urging the practical impossibility, with the transports at 
his disposal, of throwing over the river the force which he 
deemed safe — but was ordered forward. From an examination 
of all the evidence produced, we credit the General's state- 
ment, and feel that the censures heaped upon him were really 
unmerited. 

Beenforcements were rapidly thrown to the Yirginia side by 
General Gorman, at Edwards' Ferry, and his skirmishers and 
cavalry scouts advanced cautiously and steadily to the front 
and right, while the infantry lines were formed in such posi- 
tion as to act rapidly and in concert, in case of an advance of 
the enemy, and shells were thrown by Lieutenant Woodruff's 
Parrott guns, especial care being taken to annoy the enemy by 
the battery on the right. 

Messengers from Harrison's Island informed General Stone, 
soon after the arrival of Colonel Baker opposite the island, that 
he was crossing his whole force as rapidly as possible, and that 
he had caused an additional flat-boat to be lifted from the 
canal into the river, and had provided a line, by which to cross 
the boats more rapidly. 



204 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

During the morning a sharp skirmish took place, between 
two of the advance companies of the Fifteenth Massachusetts 
and a body of about one hundred strong of Mississippi rifle- 
men, during which a body of the enemy's cavalry appeared 
causing Colonel Devens to fall back in good order on Colonel 
Lee's position, after which he again advanced, his officers and 
men behaving admirably, fighting, retiring, and advancing in 
perfect order, and exhibiting every proof of high courage and 
good discipline. Had he, at this time, had the cavalry scout- 
ing party which was sent him in the morning, but which, most 
unfortunately, had been turned back without his knowledge, 
he could, doubtless, have had timely warning of the approach 
of the superior force, which afterwards overwhelmed his regi- 
ment and their brave commander and comrades. To that 
surprise was owing the disaster. 

General Stone, evidently thinking that Colonel Baker might 
be able to use more artillery, dispatched to him two additional 
pieces of Vaughan's battery, supported by two companies of 
infjinliy, with directions to its officer to come into position 
below the place of crossing, and report to Colonel Baker. 
Later in the day, and but a short time prior to the arrival of 
the guns. Colonel Baker suggested the same movement to 
General Stone, thus justifying the Generals opinion. 

A correspondent of the New York Times said, in reference 
to the transports and their apparent want of capacity : 

" After Colonel Devens' second advance, Colonel Baker 
seems to have gone to the field in person, but he has left no 
record of what officers and men he charged with the care of the 
boats, and insuring the regular passage of the troops. If any 
one was charged with this duty, it was not performed, for it 
appears that the reenforcements, as they arrived, found no 
system enforced, and the boats were delayed most unneces- 
sarily in transporting back, a few at a time, the wounded that 
happened to arrive with attendants. Had an efficient officer 
been in charge at each landing, with one company guarding 
the boats, their full capacity would have been made service- 
able, and sufficient men would have passed on to secure the 



OF THE WAR. 205 

success of liis operation. The forwarding of artillery (neces- 
sarily a slow process) before its supporting force of infantrj'-, 
also impeded the rapid assembling of an imposing force on the 
Virginia shore. The infantry which was waiting with impa- 
tience should have been first transported, and this alone would 
have made a difference in the infantry line at the time of 
attack of at least one thousand men — enough to have turned 
the scale in our favor." 

It was about one o'clock P. M., when the enemy appeared in 
force, in front of Colonel Devens. A sharp skirmish then 
ensued, which was maintained for some time by the Massa- 
chusetts Fifteenth. Unsupported, and finding himself about 
to be outflanked, Colonel Devens retired a short distance in 
good ordei', and took up a position in the edge of the wood, 
about half-a-mile in front of Colonel Lee's position, where he 
remained until two P. M., when he again retired with the 
approach of Colonel Baker, and took his place in line with 
those portions of the Twentieth Massachusetts and First Cali- 
fornia regiments whicn had arrived. 

Colonel Baker at once formed his line, awaiting the attack 
of the enemy, which came upon him with great vigor about 
three P. M., and was met with admirable spirit by our troops, 
who, though evidently struggling against largely superior 
numbers, nearly if not quite three to one, maintained their 
ground and a most destructive fire upon the enemy. 

Colonel Cogswell, with a small portion of his regimeiit, suc- 
ceeded in reaching the field in the midst of the heaviest fire, 
and they went gallantly into action with a yell, vfhich wavered 
the enemy's line. 

Lieutenant Bramhall, of Buntmg's battery, had succeeded, 
after exertions of labor, in bringing np a piece of the Rhode 
Island battery, and Lieutenant French, First artillery, his two 
mountain howitzers ; but while for a short time these main- 
tained a well-dhected fire, both ofiicers and nearly all the men 
were soon borne away wounded, and the pieces were handed 
to the rear to prevent theh falling into the hands of the 
enemy. 



206 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

At about four o'clock P. M., Colonel Baker, pierced by a 
number of balls, fell at tlie bead of bis command, wbile cbeer- 
ing on bis men, and by bis own example maintaining tbe ob- 
stinate resistance tbey were making. In full uniform, witb a 
" regulation" bat and featber, and mounted on bis borse, be 
was a conspicuous mark for tbe bloodtbirsty traitors. He was 
one of tbe finest appearing men in full uniform and mounted 
tbat I bave seen in tbe service. Entirely regardless of per- 
sonal safety, be led and cbeered on bis men. He remarked to 
tbose around bim, " A rascal up in tbat tree bas fired at me 
five or six times ;" and tlie rascal in tbe tree was speedily 
brougbt down by a well-directed ball. Sbortly after tbis 
Colonel Baker was surrounded by a body of rebel cavalry and 
taken prisoner ; but tbe rigbt wing of tbe battalion cbarged 
witb tbe bayonet, routed tbe cavalry, killed numbers of tbem, 
and recaptured tbeir Colonel. 

But a few minutes bad elapsed, bowever, before a tall, fero- 
cious Virginian, witb red bair and wbiskers, came rusbing 
from bebind a tree, witb a buge revolver in bis band, and, 
placing tbe weapon almost against tbe Colonel's bead, inflicted 
a mortal wound. Not satisfied witb bis deadly work, be fired 
tbe second ball, wbile simultaneously tbe body was pierced 
witb four bullets from tbe tops of trees, and tbe brave Colonel 
fell lifeless from bis borse. 

Captain Louis Berial, of New York city, commanding Com- 
pany C, California regiment, seeing tbe assassination of Colo- 
nel Baker, rusbed upon tbe ruffian, seized bim by tbe tbroat, 
and sbot bim dead on tbe spot witb bis revolver. 

Colonel Lee tben took command, and prepared to commence 
tbrowing our forces to tbe rear, but Colonel Cogswell, of tbe 
Tammany regiment, being found to be senior in I'ank, assumed 
command, and ordered dispositions to be made immediately 
for marcbing to tbe left, and cutting a way tbrougb to 
Edwards' Ferry. 

Unfortunately, just as tbe first dispositions were being 
made, an officer of tbe enemy rode rapidly in front of tbe 
Tammany regiment and beckoned tbem towards tbe enemy. 



OF THE WAR. 207 

Whether the Tammany understood this as an order from one 
of our officers, or an invitation to close work, is not known ; 
but the men responded to the gesture with a yell, and charged 
forward, carrying with them in their advance the rest of the 
line, which soon received a murderous fire from the enemy at 
close distance. Our officers rapidly recalled the men, but in 
the position they had now placed themselves, it was imprac- 
ticable to make the movement designed, and Colonel Cogswell 
reluctantly gave the order to retire. The enemy pvirsued our 
troops to the edge of the bluft' over the landing-place, and 
thence poured in a heavy fire on the men who were endeavor- 
ing to cross to the island. 

Eapid as the retreat necessarily was, there was no neglect 
of orders. The men formed near the river, deploying as skir- 
mishers, and maintained for twenty minutes or more the une- 
qual and hopeless contest rather than surrender. 

The smaller boats had disappeared, no one knew whither. 
The largest boat, rapidly and too heavily laden, swamped some 
fifteen feet from the shore, and nothing was left to the gallant 
soldiers but to swim, surrender or die. 

With a devotion worthy of the cause they are serving, offi- 
cers and men, while quarter was being offered to such as would 
lay down their arms, stripped themselves of their swords and 
muskets and hurled them out into the river to prevent their 
falling into the hands of the foe, and saved themselves as they 
could by swimming, floating on logs, and concealing them- 
selves in bushes and forests to make their way up and down 
the river, back to a place of crossing. 

The Times correspondent, already quoted from, and who 
appears to have been in the confidence of General Stone, said : 

" While these scenes were being enacted on the right, General Stone 
■was preparing for a rapid push forward to the road by which the enemy 
would retreat if dviven, and entirely unsuspicious of the perilous condi- 
tion of the troops on the right. The additional artillery had already 
been sent in anticipation, and General Stone was told by a messenger 
from Baker's position, that the Colonel could, without doubt, hold his 
own in case he did not advance. Half an hour later — say at half-past 



208 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

three p. M. — a similar statement was made by another messenger from 
Colonel Baker, and it was the expectation of General Stone that an ad- 
vance on the right would be made, so that he could push forward Gen- 
eral Gorman. It was, as had been explained to Colonel Baker, imjirac- 
ticable to throw Gorman's brigade directly to the right, by reason of 
the battery in the wood, between which we had never been able to 
reconnoitre." 

Presuming that all "was progressing favorably, Stone tele- 
graphed to General Banks requesting him to send a brigade 
of his division, intending it to occup}^ the ground on the Maiy- 
land side of the river, near to Harrison's Island, which could 
be abandoned in case of a rapid advance. 

Captain Candy arrived at head-quarters from the field of 
Colonel Baker about live P. M., and announced to General 
Stone the news of Colonel Bakers death, but giving no news 
of further disaster, though he stated that reenforccments were 
slow. General Stone telegraphed this fact to General Banks, 
and the fict of Colonel Baker's death, and instantly rode to 
the right to assume command. Before he reached the point 
opposite the island, evidences of disaster began to be met, in 
men who had crossed the river by swimming, and on reach- 
ing the landing the fact was asserted in a manner leaving 
no possible doubt. It was reported to General Stone that the 
enemy's force was ten thousand — an evident exaggeration. 
He gave orders to hold the island for the removal of the 
wounded, and established a patrol on the tow-path from oppo- 
site the island to the line of pickets near Monocacy, and then 
returned to the left, to secure the troops there from disaster, 
preparing means of removing them as rapidly as possible. 

Orders arrived from head-quarters of the army of the Poto- 
mac to hold the island and Virginia shore at Edwards' Ferry 
at all hazards, and promising reenforccments, and General 
Stone foj-warded additional intrenching tools to General Gor- 
man, with instructions xo intrench and hold oat against any 
force that might appear. That evening General Stone learned 
by telegraph that General Banks was on the way to reenforce 
him, and at about three A. M., he arrived and assumed command. 



xx 



INCIDENTS OF THE BALL'S BLUFF DISASTER. 

The instances of personal gallantry of the liigbest order 
were so many, that it would be unjust now to detail particular 
cases. Officers displayed for their men, and men for their 
officers, that beautiful devotion which is only to be found 
among true soldiers. Regiment after regiment of fresh rebel 
troops came rushing upon them down the hill, yelling like 
fiends, and pouring in deadly volleys, while the trees still 
swarmed with riflemen, who made the air black with bullets 
aimed at our devoted little band. At times the contending 
parties were within four or five feet of each other ; still our 
men stood steadily, returning their fire, or plunging at them 
with the bayonet So near were they at one time that our 
men actually caught a lieutenant, by seizing him as he stood in 
the enemy's ranks. He was taken over the river safely by his 
captors. 

During the fiercest portion of the struggle, an officer, 
mounted on a fine horse, rushed forward from the woods, ex- 
claiming to the Federal force behind him : " Rally on me, 
boys !" Knowing that other Union regiments were to cross 
another ferry, some of our men were deceived and followed the 
horseman ; but they were led as sheep to the slaughter, for 
they had proceeded but a few rods when a deadly volley was 
poured into them, killing many and hastily dispersing the rest. 
In a few minutes the same man appeared again, to try the same 
gama Colonel Baker chanced to see him and exclaimed, 
s2 27 



210 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" Good heaven ! there is Johnson, what is he doing there ?" 
It was not the rebel General, however, but some other, equally 
bold and unscrupulous. 

The apparent desertion of Leesburg was only a ruse on 
the part of the enemy, who had drawn their forces out of the 
town, and were posted in strength in such positions between 
Leesburg and the river, that they could enfilade our advancing 
columns, and attack them not only in front and in the flanks, 
but in the rear also. Skirmishers were thrown out as the 
column advanced, but no signs of an enemy were seen, until 
the brigade had advanced fully half-way to their destination. 
The first intimation of the presence of the enemy was the 
simultaneous discharge of about a hundred rifles, from a thicket 
on the top of an eminence. The fire was received by the right 
wing of the Fifteenth Massachusetts, who were in the advance. 
A lieutenant and six or eight men were killed, and eighteen 
severely wounded. Three companies, however, immediately 
dashed up the slope, in the direction of the firef and, on reach- 
ing the spot, found themselves confronted with a regiment of 
Mississippi riflemen, who, reserving their fire till our brave 
fellows were within thirty yards, poured into them another 
volley. A captain, a lieutenant, and twelve or thirteen men 
were killed by this discharge. Our men, however, nothing 
daunted, delivered their fire with good effect, and then charged 
with the bayonet. The enemy did not wait for the latter, but 
cut and ran towards Leesburg in disorder. Colonel Devens 
then pushed on, but soon found that even that apparent flight 
was a ruse to draw him on. He was soon so surrounded as to 
have but little hope of the escape of a single person in his 
ranks. It is stated that the conduct of Colonel Baker, in his 
effort to rescue the Massachusetts and other men, under fire, 
was heroic beyond description. 

Just prior to the fall of Colonel Baker, the enemy made a 
flank movement to turn the latter's line. Colonel Baker, per- 
ceiving this, immediately wrote an order to be conveyed to 
the Tammany companies, which had just arrived, and while 
the right was facing his command, to meet the flank move- 



OF THE WAR. 211 

ment, and when about giving orders to charge, he was killed, 
falling ten feet in advance of his column. 

One of the bravest of the brave was Lieutenant Bramhall, 
of the New York Ninth. He was in command of two pieces 
of artillery, one of which was left on the island when the ad- 
vance was made. During the fight he was wounded by a 
spent ball in his back, and had two other bullets pass through 
him, through his side. He was carried to the island. When 
the rout took place, he asked Eev. Mr. Scanlan what he should 
do with his battery, wdiere he should place it to cover the 
retreat Then, as the thought flashed into his mind, said, " I 
will place it to cover Conrad's Ferry." And though thus 
wounded, he called two soldiers to his aid, who carried him in 
their arms round the island, and sustained him while he placed 
his battery in position ! He was about 23 j'ears of age. Be- 
sides these wounds, he had six bullets pass through his clothes 
and hat. One struck the scabbard of his sword. It was only 
till he had got every thing right about his guns that he would 
allow himself to be brought from the island. 

A German sergeant, on seeing his captain fall, toward the 
close of the fight, collected four or five files of his company, 
about a dozen men altogether, and crying, " Boys, we can only 
die once ; we'll avenge the 9aptain's death." led them fighting 
into the very heart of the enemy's position. He immediatel}^ 
disappeared, and nothing was afterward seen of him or any 
of his band. 

The officers and men behaved with the most extraordinary 
courage. They were pressed by an overpowering force, but 
stood firm until their whole supply of ammunition was 
exha^isted, and then retreated to the river, and threw their 
guns and swords into it to prevent the enemy getting posses- 
sion of them. Colonel Raymond Lee and staff were furnished 
with a skiff to make their escape. The Colonel gallantly 
refused, and gave orders to use it for conveying the wounded 
across the river. It was filled with wounded, who reached the 
Maryland shore in safetj'-, and the humane and gallant officer 
was taken prisoner. 
k • 



212 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Many of the survivors of the fight escaped by swimming. 
Captain Crowninsheld, long known in Harvard as the stroke- 
oar of the boat club, swam to Harrison's Island, without 
clothing, and saving nothing but his watch, which he carried 
in his mouth. Being greatly fatigued, he turned in beneath 
the most convenient hay -rick, and slept till morning, when, in 
the hurry of departure, and the especial anxiety of procuring 
clothes, he departed without giving a thought to the watch 
which he had taken such pains to keep possession of the night 
before, and which he had tucked away beside him before going 
to sleep. 

A story was related of an Irishman in company D, of the 
Massachusetts Fifteenth, which is very funny. When the 
retreat was ordered, he threw off his coat and pants and 
plunged into the icy current of the Potomac. He swam boldly 
across the river, and had just gained the Maryland shore, when 
he remembered that he had left $13 25 in the pocket of his 
coat " Bejabers, Bill}''," said he, " thim thirteen dollars is in 
me coat, and the bloody ribels will git 'em, and besides, I can't 
consint to part with the amount, so I'll jist go for them," and 
in he plunged again. He got safely over, found his coat, 
secured his money, and recrossed the river. I saw him in 
camp this afternoon, and congratulated him on his pluck, endur- 
ance and success, to which he replied, " Oh, yis sir, 'twas all 
I'd saved from my three months' sarvice, and I'm very fond 
of me pipe." 

A most exciting scene transpired at the sinking of the 
launch, in which were some sixty wounded men, and twenty 
or thirty members of the California First. The launch had 
been safely taken half way across the river, when, to their 
utter consternation, it was discovered that it was leaking, and 
the water gradually, but surely, gaining upon them. The 
wounded were lying on the bottom of the launch — some shot 
in the head, others mangled by the tramp of cavalry, and 
otliere suffering intolerably from their various dislocations, 
wounds and injuries, and all soaking in water, which, at the 
very start, was fully four inches deep. As the water grew 



OF THE WAR. 213 

deeper and rose above the prostrate forms of the wounded, 
their comrades lifted them into sitting postures, that they 
might not be strangled by the fast-rising stream. Despite all 
that could be done, the fjite of the launch, and all that were in 
, with the exception of a few expert swimmers, was sealed ; 
suddenly, and like a flash of lightning, the rotten craft sank, 
carrying with it at least fifty dying, mangled, groaning suffer- 
ers, and some twenty or thirty others, who had trusted their 
lives to its treacherous hold. 

After all was finished, and the fragments of the regiments 
were brought together at the water's edge, it was determined 
to push upward along the shore, with the uncertain hope of 
finding some means of recrossing to the Maryland side. In 
the event of meeting the enemy, however, it was determined 
to surrender at once, since any contest under the circum- 
stances would be a useless sacrifice of life. After progressing 
a mile or so, the officers (Captains Bartlett and Tremlett, and 
Lieutenants Whittier and Abbott) discovered a mill, sur- 
rounded by cottages, about which numbers of persons were 
seen moving. Here it seemed that they must yield. The 
officers ordered a halt, and directed the men to cast all their 
arms into the river, so that the enemy should gain as little as 
possible by the surrender. Lieutenant Whittier walked on in 
advance with a white handkerchief tied on his sword, to be 
used when occasion should demand. The first person met 
was an old negro, who, though greatly terrified, contrived to 
reveal that an old boat was stored near the mill, which might 
be bailed out and used to convey the fugitives across the 
river. A gift of five dollars insured his services, and the boat 
was in due time launched and ready for use. It was small, 
and only a few could pass at each trip. Until dawn it passed 
back and forth, until all were transferred in safety. One offi- 
cer went over in the third boat, to keep the men well together 
On the Maryland side ; the others waited till the last For 
that service the old negro was afterwards dreadfully whipped, 
and only escaped more tortures by " passing over Jordan' — • 
crossing the Potomac and making his way to Pennsylvania. 



214 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Before starting upon the expedition on Monday morning, 
tlie men had left their knapsacks and blankets upon Harrison's 
Island. In the retreat it was impossible for more than a few 
to gather them up again. A Lieutenant volunteered on Wed- 
nesday, after the island had been visited by the rebel scouts, 
to go over with five and collect what remained. He did so, 
and returned with more than a hundred knapsacks and blan- 
kets, to the great comfort of many of the men who had suf- 
fered from the icy weather. While thei'e, the men scoured 
nearly the whole island, but could not be persuaded to enter 
the building which had been iised as a hospital, in which so 
many corpses of their former comrades lay. 

The loss of the Federals in this affair never was accurately 
stated. About seventy were killed ; as many were drowned 
and shot in the water ; over one hundred and fifty were 
wounded ; and about four hundred were taken prisoners. 
The rebel Genei'al in command, Evans, in his report of the 
affair, stated his forces to have been twenty-five hundred, and 
his loss to have been three hundred killed and wounded. 
The Federal force, all told, was seventeen hundred and fifty. 

As to the responsibility of the movement made, and of the 
surprise, the following orders will afford due light ; they were 
found in the Colonel's hat, underneath the lining. Both were 
deeply stained with Colonel Baker's blood, and one of the bul- 
lets, which went through his head, carried away a corner of 
the fii'st : 

Edwards' Ferky, October 21st, 1861. 
Colonel E. D. Bakery Commander of Brigade : 

Colonel : In case of heavy firing in front of Harrison's Island, you 
•will advance the California regiment of your brigade, or retire the regi- 
ments under Colonels Lee and Devens, now on the [almost rendered 
illegible by blood] Virginia side of the river, at your discretion— assum- 
ing command on arrival. 

Very resiJectfuUy, Colonel, your most obedient servant, 

CHARLES P. STONE, 
Brigadier-General Commanding. 

The second order, which follows, was delivered on the 
battle-field by Colonel Cogswell, who said to Colonel Baker, 



OF THE WAR. 215 

in reply to a question what it meant, "All right, go ahead." 
Thereupon, Colonel Baker put it in his hat without reading. 
An hour afterward he fell. 

• Head- quarters Corps of Observation, ) 
Edwards' Ferry, October 22d— 11:50. I 

E. D. Baker, Commandiko Brigade — Colonel : I am informed tliat 
the force of the enemy is about four thousand, all told. If you can push 
them, you may do so as far as to have a strong position near Leesburg, 
if you can keep them before you, avoiding their batteries. If they pass 
Leesburg and take the Gum Springs Road, you will not follow far, l:)ut 
seize the first good position to cover that road. 

Their desire is to draw us on, if they are obliged to retreat, as far as 
Goose Creek, where they can be reenforced from Manassas, and have a 
strong position. 

Report frequently, so that, when they are pushed, Gorman can come 
up on their flank. 

Yours, respectfully and truly, 

CHARLES P. STONE, 
Brigadier- General Commanding. 

This little error of the Colonel — in not reading the last dis- 
patch — was tlie cause of the surprise. Colonel Coggswell's 
remark — " All right, go ahead !" doubtless served to answer, 
in Baker's mind, for the contents of the envelop, and therefore 
it was not broken open. It serves at least to relieve General 
Stone from the inattention and ignorance of the enemy's force 
which were freely charged upon him at one time. The move- 
ment over the river was Stone's conception, and that remains 
open foj stricture. 



x:xi. 



COLONEL BAKER. 

The loss of this officer created a profound sensation, in all 
circles. He was well known personally by an immense num- 
ber of persons in the East and West and on the Pacific coast ; 
while his reputation as the United States Senator from Oregon 
was such as to have made his name one familiar to the public 
ear. His splendid talents as a speaker and debater gave him 
a prominent position in the Senate, from which he withdi-ew 
to raise regiments in New York city and Philadelphia, to be 
known as the California brigade. His loss was a cause for 
national regret ; and the notices bestowed upon his career, his 
character and talents evinced the depth of the feeling all felt 
at his fate. 

Edward Dickinson Baker was born in London, England, 
February 24th, 1811. His parents were both persons of refine- 
ment, honorably connected and of fair repute. The parents 
emigrated to America in 1815, residing in Philadelphia for ten 
years. " Early in the spring of 1825," says a writer in Har- 
per's Magazine^ (December, 1861.) " the elder Baker, impelled 
by that spirit of restless adventure and enterprise that seems 
the heritage of all the 2'ace, gathered up his household gods 
and turned his face once more to the sunset. Over the track- 
less moimtains, along the strange rivers, through the still wil- 
derness where life was bursting into beauty and bloom, he 
journeyed until, tired of wandering, he rested in the rich 
valle}^ of the Wabash. Only a little while though ; for in a 



OF THE WAR. 217 

year or so we find him at tlie pleasant old town of Belleville 
in the county of St, Clair, the earliest settled of all Central 
Illinois, filled with a population more wealthy and refined 
than that which settled in the Southern peninsula between the 
Mississippi and the Ohio, or that which fought and traded 
along the Illinois and Eock Eivers. Most of the educational 
and social advantages of the State clustered at that early day 
around the villages facing the trading station that Laclede had 
built and called St Louis, and those that nestled cozily in the 
winding valley of Kaskaskia. In later years these towns have 
lost their ancient prosperity, and all v that reminds the visitor 
of what has been is the dignified idleness of the men and the 
still, proud beauty of the women. 

" Finding in the good county of St Clair a congenial social 
atmosphere, the elder Baker pitched there his tent, and opened 
an academy for boys, which he continued with great success 
for many years, conducting it upon a system of instruction 
then called the Lancasterian plan. His son, Edward, then a 
handsome lad of fifteen, by the grace and dignitj^ of his bear- 
ing, by his personal beauty, and by the astonishing charm of 
conversation which even at that early day distinguished hira, 
became a general favorite in the best society there. He was 
always received with kindness in the family of Governor 
Edwards, a magnificent old gentlemen in fair top-boots and 
ruffled wristbands, who added to a character of great generosity 
and executive ability the grand Seigneur airs of the Old School. 
Young Baker availed himself with avidity of the treasures of 
the Governor's library, the best in the State. He was always 
a ravenous reader. He had one of those rare memories — wax 
to receive, and marble to retain. He was indebted to its trusti- 
ness and quickness for much of his success as a debater. He 
was rarelj mistaken, and never at fault for a fact or an allu- 
sion. Thus reading and remembering, dreaming and growing, 
he passed the pleasant days in pleasant Belleville, in congenial 
study and edifying society. He took much interest in the 
political contests that convulsed the State upon the old and 
always mischievous question of Slavery — in which, singularly 



218 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

cnouo-li, NortheiTi and Eastern men favored the introduction 
of Slavery, Avhile the Governor and his Kentucky associates 
opposed it. By their untiring efforts Slavery was prohibited, 
and Illinois remained a Free State. 

" From Belleville young Baker went to Carrollton, in Greene 
county, a town of less social culture, though filled with a 
wealthy and sterling population. Here he studied law in the 
office of Judge Caverly, and practiced for some time with 
indifferent success. He married here a lady of high character 
and position, who still survives him, in desolation and sorrow, 
on the far shore of the Pacific Ocean. 

" He removed to Springfield, afterward the capital city of 
the State, in 1835. ■ In 1887, when Dan Stone — the member 
who joined Abraham Lincoln in what his opponents styled 
the 'Abolition protest' — resigned his seat in the Legislature 
to secure a place on the Supreme Bench, Baker was elected 
to fill the vacancy thus created, and re-elected soon thereafter. 
He paid little attention to Legislative business ; was often out 
of his seat, and more pleasantly employed. He was, however, 
always called on when an obnoxious measure was to be de- 
feated or an opponent demolished. He mastered details with 
great ease when he cared, but he did not often care. He was 
State Senator from 1840 to 1844, defeating in the canvass John 
Calhoun, who afterward became memorable on accout of an 
election manoeuvre in Kansas not wholly unconnected with 
candle-boxes. 

"All this time he was applying himself assiduously to the 
practice of law. His infallible memory, his quickness of per- 
ception, and his ardent eloquence, were powerful agenciies in 
the management of juries, and were usually successful against 
the most determined energy and labor. His bonhommie and 
impetuosity of delivery were irresistible to Western men ; and 
his Kentucky admirers delighted to liken him to the great 
lights of the South-western bar, Barry and Grundy. He was 
fortunate in being associated with men of industry and learn- 
ing, such as Judge Logan, the Nestor of the profession in Illi- 



OF THE WAR. 219 

nois ; M, Haj ; and, for a while, Albert T. Bledsoe, lately 
Assistant Secretary of War in the Soutliern Confederacy." 

The writer of the article above quoted from — undei'stood to 
be Mr. John Hay, Second Private Secretary to President Lin- 
coln — adverted with some pride to the coterie of really notable 
men who, at that day, controlled the sentiment of Illinois. 
He said : " It would be hard to find in any backwoods town, 
at the period of which I have been speaking, a coterie of equal 
ability and equal possibilities with those who plead, and 
wrangled, and electioneered together in Springfield. Logan, 
one of the finest examples of the purely legal mind that the 
"West has ever produced ; M'Dougal, who afterward sought El 
Dorado ; Bissell, and Shields, and Baker, brothers in arms and 
in council, the flower of the Western chivalry, and the bright- 
est examples of Western oratory ; Trumbull, then as now, 
with a mind pre-eminently cool, crj^stalline, sagacious ; Doug- 
las, heart of oak and brain of fire, of energy and undaunted 
courage unparalleled, ambition insatiate and aspiration unsleep- 
ing ; Lincoln, then as afterward, thoughtful, and honest, and 
brave, conscious of great capabilities and quietly sure of the 
future, before all his peers in a broad humanity, and in that 
prophetic lift of spirit that saw the trium^Dh of princij)les then 
dimly discovered in the contest that was to come." 

In 1844, Baker was sent to represent the Sangammon Dis- 
trict, Illinois, in Congress, and was found in his seat at the 
moment of the Mexican war. He opposed the war strenuously ; 
yet the restless fire in his heart impelled him to the field. Mr. 
Hay rather humorously observed : " There was something in 
his veins that would not let him be quiet when there was fight- 
ing going on. He had had some little experience of soldiering 
in the Black Hawk war. Lincoln was a Captain then ; Robert 
Anderson and Jefferson Davis were together in an expedition 
up the Mississippi, and Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis 
i:)robably bivouacked together in the Iowa forests, and dreamed 
of battles by the dying fire." Very few Western men of dis- 
tinction of the elder generation, who have not had early expe- 
rience in the use of arms in defense of their firesides. 



220 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Baker left the Halls of Congi-ess, and proceeded to recruit 
the Fourth Illinois regiment in Springfield. With them he 
embarked for Metamoras. From thence he returned to Wash- 
ington upon important Lusiness and as bearer of special dis- 
patches. He resumed his seat in Congress long enough to 
make a powerful speech in behalf of the volunteers. Then, 
resigning his membership, he returned to the seat of war, to 
find his regiment at the siege of Vera Cruz, Assuming the 
active command, he passed with the army into the interior by 
the National Road. At Cerro Gordo heights, the first engage- 
ment after leaving Vera Cruz, Shields — to whose brigade the 
Fourth Illinois was attached — was shot through the body, and, 
as was then supposed, was mortally wounded. Baker, as 
senior Colonel, assumed the brigade command, instantl}'', and 
bore out the responsible duty entrusted to the battalions of 
Shields. He led the flank charge upon the Mexican rear 
battery, which crossed and enfiladed the road, and thus secured 
their way open for a retreat The charge was a most gallant 
affair, capturing the battery and cutting off the Mexicans from 
escape. 

He served out the war, returning home with the reputation 
of being a competent, courageous, and spirited officer. 

Baker was succeeded in Congress by Abraham Lincoln. He 
did not settle again in Springfield, but at Galena. A few 
months residence there served to give him such a popular 
ascendancy that he was again elected to Congress — this time in 
a district which had for years been Democratic. Baker was a 
Whig, as was Abraham Lincoln — a devoted admirer and fol- 
lower of the principles of Henry Clay ; and his election from 
that Democratic District, where the influence of Douglas then 
was measurably felt, proves the strength of his personal 
popularity. 

It was on the floor of the House of Representatives in 
Washington, in 1850, that he pronounced his eulogy on General 
Taylor — his old leader-in-arms, and his personal friend. That 
effort has been pronounced one of the most splendid efforts of 
oratory ever listened to within those walls, and will remain a 



OP THE WAR. 221 

monument to liis memory if eloquence and extraordinary 
power over human passions constitute a claim to remembrance. 

His term expiring with the session of 1850, Baker, finding 
his professional business in Illinois seriously interrupted by 
four years absence in Mexico and at "Washington, and finding 
it necessary to take some active measures for the comfort of 
his growing family, effected a contract with the newly-organized 
Panama Kailroad Company, in pursuance of which he collected 
and conveyed to Panama four hundred laborers, with whom 
he rendered most important aid to that gi'cat enterprise. In sur- 
veying and cutting out the "track through those deep, dark 
morasses, frequently passing the whole day in slimy swamps, 
teeming with venomous insects and reptiles, his health gave 
way, and, senseless and apparently dying from a severe attack 
of Panama fever, he was carried on board a vessel and re- 
moved to New York. He escaped with his life, but shattered 
in constitution, and ten years older in appearance. 

In 1852, having measurably recovered, Colonel Baker 
removed with his family to San Francisco, where he practised 
law with distinction and success ; and as a forensic and political 
orator, was without a rival in that young State, whose Bar, 
culled as it is, from all the States of the Union, is so rich in 
ability. If Colonel Baker had stopped when he returned from 
Mexico, we should all have said he was a remarkable man to 
distinguish himself in so many and such diverse pursuits — in 
the Court Room, and in the forum, on the stump and halls of 
legislation. But he did not stop ; he went to California with 
his family in 1852, and there he became as active and promi- 
nent as he had been in Illinois ; perhaps more successful as a 
public speaker. We have heard Calif ornians represent the 
effects of his speaking in San Francisco, where ten thousand 
people assembled to hear him at once ; and from the days that 
Demosthenes harangued the Greeks, no orator has been more 
successful than he in the Golden State. It made no difference 
what the occasion, the call was for Baker. Were they to con- 
secrate a cemetery, he was the orator ; were they to bury in 
that cemetery some martyr to freedom, he pronounced the 



222 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

funeral oration. In politics, he led the van of the Republican 
forces ; he stumped the State, and would have been elected to 
Congress, if some hundreds of votes more than his party com- 
manded, could have done it In law, he was retained to do 
the most important pleading, as Choate was in his time in 
Massachusetts. 

Mr. Hay says : " When a man went to talk for Fremont 
among the squatters of Mariposa, or inveigh against slavery 
among the refuse ruffianism of the Gulf, that haunted Yuba 
and Sonoma, or expound a hated doctrine to the desperadoes 
of Tuolumne, he took his life in his hand, and considered liis 
pistols and knife as necessary companions as his pamphlets 
and papers. And who was so qualified as Baker for a strife 
like this ? His geniality beguiled as much as his courage im- 
pressed. Because he was always known t'^ be ready for a fight, 
it was never necessary. He won the hearts of the rough peo- 
ple who cursed his doctrine, and his name became coupled in 
tlie mouths of the mountaineers with every expletive of pro- 
fane admiration. He was utterly at home on the hustings. 
Those who are acquainted only with his grave senatorial efforts 
can form no adequate idea of the read}'-, sparkling, ebullient 
wit — the glancing and playful satire, mirthful while merciless 
• — the keen syllogisms — and the sharp sophisms, whose fala- 
cies, though undiscoverable, were perplexing — and the sudden 
splendors of eloquence that formed the wonderful charm of 
his backwoods harangues. His fame became co-extensive with 
the coast ; and the people, in allusion to ' the good gray head 
which all men knew,' used to call him the ' Gray Eagle.' 

" Years passed on, and Baker made money and friends in 
California. At last the gi'eat party of the North became 
divided on the interminably vexing question of slaver}^ in the 
Territories. Brcderick — one of the truest diamonds that ever 
existed in the rough— after battling with unavailing pluck for 
wdiat he deemed truth and justice in the Senate, came back to 
rally his clansmen for conflict with a haughty and implacable 
organization. Here was a conflict that at once enlisted all the 
soul of Baker. It was not so forlorn in prospect as his former 



OF THE WAR. 223 

one, and a glimmer of hope is very inspiriting in politics. A 
coalition was effected between the Eepublicans and the Dong- 
las Democrats, by which Baker and M'Kibbin became the 
candidates for Congress against the distinctive pro-slavery 
men. The story of that w^ell-fonght campaign was not a par- 
ticularly pleasant one. It was like all sudden insurrections of 
free thought and manhood against powerful and disciplined 
tyranny. The Broderick ticket was defeated, and the baffled 
Senator was bullied into a criminal folly that his better judg- 
ment condemned, and was slain. His last words were, ' They 
have killed me because I was opposed to the extension of slav- 
ery and a corrupt Administration.' 

" The words and the event fell heavily on the heart of the 
nation. Far more crushingly they rested on the saddened 
spirits of his friends. The dull heaviness of their grief forbade 
parade, and made ceremony mockery. The American mind 
runs naturally to committees when great men fall But there 
was that within the hearts of Broderick's friends, like the an- 
guish of the roj^al Dane, ' passing show.' By common con- 
sent Baker was the funeral orator. With none of the ordinary 
accessories of solemn burials, the dead Senator lay in the great 
square of the city, and the saddened people flocked silently to 
the scene. From all the streets of the crowded town they 
gathered in the hush of the autumnal noon, till the square was 
filled with the mourning multitudes, whispering with lowered 
voices of the virtues of the departed, and striving to come 
near enough to gaze upon the calm features of the murdered 
tribune, turned stonily to the brightness of the skies. Aloft 
the church bells were jangling mournfully, and their wild 
lament, floating down to earth, deepened the emotion of the 
hour. As their ringing vibrated into silence the voice of the 
orator stole out upon the air, tremulous wnth tender feeling 
and musical with the memories of dead friendship. The mind 
of the mighty multitude, softened by the excitement of their 
sorrow, lay plastic to his hand, and for an hour the homage 
of tears and sobs was paid to Baker's genius and Broderick's 
memor}^, until he ended in those grandly pathetic words, whose 






224 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

toucliins; music breathes alike tlie abandon of sorrow and tlie 
joy of ultimate fame : 

" ' The last word must be spoken, and the imperious man- 
date of death must be fulfilled. Thus, brave heart ! we bear 
thee to thy rest. Thus, surrounded by tens of thousands, we 
leave thee to the equal grave. As in life, no other voice 
among us so rang its trumpet blast upon the ear of freemen, 
so in death its echoes will reverberate amidst our mountains 
and our valleys until truth and valor cease to appeal to the 
human heart. 

" ' Good friend ! true hero ! hail and farewell I' 

" It is worth while to die if one could be mourned so 
gloriously." 

The murder of Broderick by Judge Terry — then serving on 
the bench — and the shocking perversion of justice by which 
the murderer was allowed his liberty, after a mockery of a trial 
in a court composed of his political friends— so oppressed 
Baker's spirits as to make him resolve to abandon California, 
The anti- Administration men of Oregon wanted a leader — one 
who could rally all the elements of the Opposition to the one 
point of defeating the Gwin-Lane Democracy. Baker was 
solicited, and accepted that leadership. He removed at once 
to Oregon, and entered upon the canvass with a spirit which 
proved how much his heart was in the work of defeating the 
enemies of law, order and human rights — for such he deemed 
the Breckenridge-Lane party in Oregon. He gave his entire 
time up to the work, vainly hoping that, even in the face of 
the overwhelming majority of south-side Democrats, he might 
succeed in sending Daniel Segar to Congress. Segar was an 
Illinois man, of fine character, and talents of a high order, 
chosen for his excellence to contest the supremacy of the 
Breckenridge Democracy ; but, so immensely was the majority 
against him that, in spite of Baker's and his own almost 
incredible exertions, he was defeated — ballot-box fraud being 
resorted to in many " hard" localities, to serve a hard end, as 
was the case in Kansas. Segar was defeated ; but the Legisla- 
ture chosen was so strongly anti-Administration as to elect 



OF THE WAR. 225 

Baker to represent Oregon in the United States Senate — an 
honor he had long coveted, and one for wliich he was emi- 
nently fitted. No abler man conld have been selected to 
attend to the interests of his section, and of the countrv, in the 
stirring crisis at hand. 

Baker's services in the Senate were brief, but brilliant. He 
arrayed himself upon the side of the Administration ; " the 
Union at all hazards," became his motto at an eai-lj moment 
of the Congressional struggle with Secession. His first effort 
was his memorable reply to Benjamin, of Louisiana — delivered 
in the Senate, Wednesday, January 2d. His fame as an orator 
drew to the Senate Hall one of the most brilliant audiences 
ever assembled within those sounding walls. The orator fully 
answered public expectation. Two afternoon sessions were 
consumed in its delivery. It was so exhaustive as an argu- "^ 
ment against Secession and of the demands of those whom Ben- 
jamin represented, and so clear in its exposition of the Union 
policy, as to give great satisfaction to the loyal public. 

Mr. Hay says : " He was especially great upon great occa- 
sions. He was a man whom the subtle magnetism of events 
always inspired. Those who heard will surely never forget 
the magnificent burst of red-hot rhetoric with which he electri- 
ficG the crowding thousands that filled Union Square last 
April. It was a mighty assemblage — great in numbei-s — tre- 
mendous in earnestness — awful in aroused enthusiasm. We 
saw that day how hard it was for common men to address that 
crowd. Some simply raved, mastered by emotion. Some, 
wishing to be solemn, prosed. There were few who could ride 
on that whirlwind, and direct that storm. Baker was one. 
From the instant w^hen his graceful form was discovered on 
the stand — his handsome face, pale but quiet ; his eye fierce 
in its brilliancy ; his white hair crowning the splendid head 
like a halo ; and the tones of his clear, firm voice, rang out on 
the air in the words : ' The majesty of the people is here to-day 
to sustain the majesty of the Constitution' — to the moment 
when he closed in a gust of passionate plaudits, he held the 
audience fettered and still. A visible thrill ran through the 
29 



226 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

dense mass wben, in closing, he consecrated himself anew to 
the service of his country in these words of exquisite melody : 

" ' And if from the far Pacific a voice, feebler than the 
feeblest murmur upon its shore, may be heard to give you 
courage and hope in the contest, that voice is yours to-day ; 
and if a man whose hair is gray, who is well-nigh worn out in 
the battle and toil of life, may pledge himself on such an occa- 
sion and in such an audience, let me say — as my last word — 
that, as when, amidst sheeted fire and flame, I saw and led the 
hosts of New York as they charged in contest upon a foreign 
soil, for the honor of your flag; so again, if Providence shall 
will it, this feeble hand shall draw a sword never yet dis- 
honored, not to fight for distant honor in a foreign land, but 
to fight for country, for home, for law, for Government, for 
Constitution, for right, for freedom, for humanity, and in the 
hope that the banner of my country may advance, and where- 
soever that banner waves, there glory may pursue and freedom 
be established !' 

" This was no idle trick of rhetoric. Before the echoes of 
his words had died, he was hard at work recruiting the Cali- 
fornia regiment. It filled rapidly. Men came from a distance 
to join in squads or singly. Many came from Philadelphia 
and its outlying country. lie liked to receive those. ' There 
must be a fighting streak somewhere about us Quakers,' he 
used to say. There was an inspiration in this man's words 
and presence that made men love to fight under him. His 
regiment soon was over-full. The President appointed him a 
Brigadier-General. He declined it. The same friendly hand 
desired to place upon his shoulder-straps the double star of a 
Major-General. He quietly refused it, and kept the eagles to 
which his regiment entitled him. As for honors, he had 
enough of them in another field. He went into this war for 
use, not fame." 

The end was rapidly approaching. Baker flitted in and out 
of Washington like a spirit — a restless, eager, devoted servant 
of his country, of his troops, of his friends. One day he would 
be in his seat in the Senate Chamber to dash in a few strokes 



OF THE WAR. 227 

of eloquent appeal or stirring sarcasm — the next, out on the 
field, manoeuvering his regiment, to make it, in drill and 
soldierly accomplishments, worthy of the first place he hoped 
to acquire by its service. ETis repl}^, in August, to Brecken- 
ridge, in the United States Senate, was his last effort. Colonel 
Forney said*: 

" Breckenridge was delivering a set disunion harangue, as 
ingenious and able as any heard on behalf of Secession. 
Baker, whose camp was a mile or two from the Capitol, entered 
the Senate Chamber hastily from the duties of a drill, while 
Breckenridge was speaking. He was presently called into the 
lobby by a message from Mr. Holt, of Kentucky, who begged 
him to reply to Breckenridge, as no one else would probably 
be ready to do so. He did so off-hand, when Breckenridge 
sat down, and made one of the most thrilling speeches which 
had been heard for years in the chamber. It squelched Mr. 
Breckenridge. Who would not rather now be Baker dead 
than Breckenridge living." 

A settled conviction of his early death pressed upon him. 
To a friend he remarked, in August, that he had made his last 
appearance in the Senate Chamber, saying : " I am certain 
I shall not live through this war, and if my troops should show 
any want of resolution, I shall foil in the first battle. I can- 
not afford, after my career in Mexico, and as a Senator of the 
United States, to turn my face from the enemy." There was 
no gloom or depression in his manner, ; it was characterized 
by a temperate earnestness which carried conviction to the 
mind of his friend of its fatal truth. Mr. Hay relates, in 
affecting terms, Baker's last visit to Washington and to the 
President's mansion, where he ever was a welcome guest He 
says : " Why that solemn farewell to his parents, penned by 
the dauntless Ellsworth, as live a man as ever breathed, in the 
dead of the last midnight that he ever watched ? Why the 
strange reckless bewilderment of the brave Lyon on tliat dis- 
astrous day, when his gallant heart was breaking under the 
double conviction that death had marked him, and the Govern- 
ment had forgotten him ? Colonel Baker for several days was 



228 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

oppressed bj this overhanging consciousness. He became as 
restless as an eagle, in his camp. lie came down to Washing- 
ton and settled all his affairs. He went to say farewell to the 
family of the President. A lady — who in her high position is 
still gracefully mindful of early friendships — gave him a bou- 
quet of late flowers. ' Very beautiful,' he said, qilietly, 'these 
flowers and my memory will wither together.' At night he 
hastily reviewed his papers. He indicated upon each its proper 
disposition ' in case I should not return.' He pressed with 
quiet earnestness upon his fnend Colonel Webb, who depre- 
cated such ghostly instructions, the measures which might 
become necessary in regard to the resting-place of his mortal 
remains. All this without any ostentation. He performed all 
these ofiices with the quiet coolness of a soldier and a man of 
affairs, then mounted his horse and rode gayly away to his 
death." 

The rest of the tragedy is related in the story of the Ball 
Bluff disaster. It is a painful chapter to peruse, but one which 
ever comes out of the horrid drama of war. Ob, how many 
tragedies will blot and blur the page of Christian history when 
the story of the rebellion is all written ! The land is filled 
with mourning. Everywhere are the weeds of wo. At almost 
every fireside sits a spectre — the spirit of one gone forever. 
Men haunt the streets bereft of limbs, or scarred fearfully, or 
wasted by suffering and disease. The graveyards are filled 
with long rows of mounds, beneath each of which sleeps one 
around whose life so many hopes, so much affection clustered. 
Every grave is the stanza of a National requiem. A son'ow lays, 
night and day, by threshholds where peace and happiness once 
were ceaseless visitants. Little children look up in tears to 
tell us of him whose loss no human agency can replace. 
Widows, and orphans, and the childless walk in our midst, 
separated from us by a sorrow which no human sympathy can 
bridge over or obliterate. 

This ia the fruit of treason. 



XXII. 



JOSEPH HOLT AND THE KENTUCKY SOLDIERS. 

No firmer patriot gi-aced the trying times of 61-62 than 
Joseph Holt of Kentucl-cy. In the cabinet of Mr. Buchanan, 
at a late day — when it would seem as if a dissolution of the 
Union was not only to be accomplished, but the country to 
be thoroughly humiliated — he had the nerve to face the crisis 
and the ability to cope with it. In conjunction with General 
Dix, Attorney-General Stanton and General Scott, he labored 
with almost superhuman energy to stay the terrible tide of 
treason then sweeping evei-ything before it ; and he succeeded 
so admirably that, when Mr. Lincoln came into power, the 
country hoped to see Mr. Holt continued in the Cabinet He 
did not remain, however, in the Cabinet, though he continued 
to give all his time and abilities to his country's service. 
Kentucky balanced in the throes of revolution, and he has- 
tened to the aid of those sustaining the cause of the Union, 
speaking, writing and talking for the Federal Government, 
sustaining the Administration in its attitude of offense against 
the rebellion, and opposing the " neutrality" which Kentucky 
Legislators had prescribed as their duty. His labors added so 
much to the strength of the actively loyal element that he soon 
had the satisfaction of finding Kentucky's quota of troops for 
National service rapidly gathering in the field, under tried and 
true Kentucky leaders. 

The Kentucky troops gathered at "Camp Jo Holt," in Indi- 
ana~-where General Rousseau was in command— before to taking 



230 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

the field in their own State against the Confederates then pre- 
paring for the subjugation of Kentucky. These troops he vis- 
ited prior to the day named for tlieir departure, and addressed 
them (July 31st) on the crisis and their duty as citizens and 
soldiers. That address is worthy of repetition, for the nobility 
of its sentiments, the strength of its lessons and the moral of its 
teachings. We take pleasure and pride in reproducing such 
portions of it as our space and plan permit. He said : 

" It is not my purpose to occupy you with any political dis- 
cussion. The gleaming banner, the glistening bayonets, and 
the martial music, and, indeed, all that meets the eye or the 
ear upon this tented field, admonish me that with you at least 
the argument is exhausted, and that you have no longer doubts 
to solve or hesitating convictions to confirm. Your resolution 
is taken, and you openly proclaim that, let others do as they 
will, as for yourselves, unchilled by the arctic airs of neutrali- 
ty, you are determined to love your country, and, unawed by 
traitors, to fight its battles, and, if need be, to lay down your 
lives for its preservation. It is indeed transporting to the pa- 
triot's heart to look upon the faces of men thus sublimely re- 
solved ; and there is to me a positive enchantment in the very 
atmosphere whose joulsatious have been .stirred by the breath- 
ings of their heroic spirits. Now that the booming of the can- 
non of trfeason and the cry of men stricken unto death for 
fidelity to our flag, are borne to us on almost every breeze, it 
is harrowing to the soul to be dragged into companionship with 
those who still vacillate, who are still timidly balancing chances 
and coldly calculating losses and gains ; who still persist in 
treating this agonized struggle for national existence as a petty 
question of commerce, and deliberately take out their scales 
and weigh in our presence the beggarly jewels of trade against 
the life of our country. 

"Soldiers: next to the worship of the Father of us all, the 
deepest and grandest of human emotions is the love of the land 
that gave us birth. It is an enlargement and exaltation of all 
the tenderest and strongest sympathies of kindred and of home. 
In all centuries and climes it has lived and defied chains and 



OF THE WAR. 231 

dungeons and racks to crush it. It lias strewed tlie eartli with 
its monuments, and has shed undying lustre on a thousand 
fields on which it has battled. Through the night of ages, 
Thermopylae glows like some mountain peak on which the 
morning sun has risen, because twenty-three hundred yeai's 
ago, this hallowing passion touched its mural precipices and 
its crowning crags. It is easy, however, to be patriotic in 
piping times of peace, and in the sunny hour of prosperity. It 
is national sorrow, it is war, with its attendant perils and hor- 
rors, that tests this passion, and winnows from the masses those 
who, with all their love of life, still love their countrj^ more. 
While your present position is a most vivid and impressive il- 
lustration of patriotism, it has a glory peculiar and altogether 
its own. The mercenary armies which have swept victorious- 
ly over the world and have gathered so many of the laurels that 
history has embalmed, were but m.achines drafted into the ser- 
vice of ambitious spirits whom they obeyed, and little under- 
stood or appreciated the problems their blood was poured out 
to solve. But while you have all the dauntless physical cour- 
age which they displayed, you add to it a thoi'ough knowledge 
of the argument on which this mighty movement proceeds, and 
a moral heroism which, breaking away from the entanglements 
of kindred, and friends, and State policy, enables you to follow 
your convictions of duty, even though they should lead you 
up to the cannon's mouth. It must, however, be added that 
with elevation of position come corresponding responsibilities. 
Soldiers as you are by conviction, the country looks not to 
your officers, chivalric and skilful as they may be, but to you 
and to each of you, for the safety of those vast national inte- 
rests committed to the fortunes of this war. Your camp life 
will expose you to many temptations ; you should resist them 
as you would the advancing squadrons of the enemy. In every 
hour of peril or incitement to excess, you will say to yourselves, 
" Our countrj^ sees us," and so act as to stand forth soldiers, not 
only without fear, but also without reproach. Each moment 
not absorbed by the toils and duties of your military life, 
should, as far as practicable, be devoted to that mental and 



232 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

moral training without whicli the noblest of volunteers must 
sink to a level with an armj of mereenaries. Alike in the in- 
action of the camp and amid the fatigues of the march, and 
the charge and shouts of battle, you will remember that you 
have in your keeping not only your own personal reputation, 
but the honor of your native State, and, what is infinitely more 
inspiring, the honor of that blood-bought and beneficent Re- 
public whose children you are. Any irreg^ilarity on your 
part would sadden the land that loves you ; any faltering in 
the presence of the foe would cover it with immeasurable hu- 
miliation. You will soon mingle in the ranks with the gallant 
volunteei-s from the North and the "West, and with me you will 
admire their moderation, their admirable discipline, and that 
deep determination, whose earnestness with them has no lan- 
guage of menace, or bluster, or passion. When the men from 
Bunker Hill and the men from the * dark and bloody ground,' 
unestranged fi'om each other by the low arts of politicians, 
shall stand side by side on the same national battle-field, the 
heart of freedom will be glad. 

" The Government has been like a strong swimmer suddenly 
precipitated into the sea, and like that swimmer it has unhesi- 
tatingly and most justifiably seized upon any and every instru- 
mentality with which it could subdue the treacherous currents 
and waves by which it has found itself surrounded. All that 
was irregular or illegal in the action of the President has been 
fully approbated by the country, and will no doubt be appro- 
bated by Congress, on the broad and incontestable principle 
that laws and usages of administration designed to preserve 
the existence of the nation should not be suffered to become 
the instruments of its death. So, for the future I do not hesi- 
tate to say that any and every measure required to save the 
Republic from the perils that beset it not only may, but ought 
to be, taken by the Administration, promptly and fearlessly. 
Within so brief a period no such gigantic power has ever 
been placed at the disposal of any government as that which 
has rallied to the support of this within the last few months, 
through those volunteer who have poured alike from hill and 



OF THE WAR. 233 

valley, city and village, throngliout the loyal States. All 
classes and all pursuits have been animated by the same lofty 
and quenchless enthusiasm. 

" While, however, I would make no invidious distinctions, 
where all have so nobly done their duty, I cannot refrain from 
remarking how conspicuous the hard-handed tillers of the soil 
of the JSTorlh and West have made themselves in swelling the 
ranks of our army. We honor commerce with its busy marts, 
and the workshop with its patient toil and exhaustless inge- 
nuity, but still we would be unfaithful to the truth of history 
did we not confess that the most heroic champions of human 
freedom and the most illustrious apostles of its principles have 
come from the broad fields of agriculture. There seems to be 
something in the scenes of nature, in her wild and beautiful 
landscapes, in her cascades, and cataracts, and waving wood- 
lands, and in the pure and exhilarating airs of her hills and 
mountains, that unbraces the fetters which man would rivet 
upon the spirit of his fellow-man. It was at the handles of 
the plough and amid the breathing odors of its newly-opened 
furrows that the character of Cincinnatus was formed, expand- 
ed and matured. It was not in the city full, but in the deep 
gorges and upon the snow-clad summits of the Alps, amid the 
eagles and the thunders, that William Tell laid the founda- 
tions of those altars to human liberty, against which the surg- 
ing tides of European despotism have beaten for centuries, 
but, thank God, have beaten in vain. It was amid the prime- 
val forests and mountains, the lakes and leaping streams of 
our own land ; amid fields of waving grain ; amid the songs 
of the reaper and the tinkling of the shepherd's bell that were 
nurtured those rare virtues which clustered star-like in the 
character of Washington, and lifted him in moral stature a 
head and shoulders above even the demi-gods of ancient story, 

*■' There is one most striking and distinctive feature of your 
mission that should never be lost sight of You are not 
about to invade the territory of a foreign enemy, nor is your 
purpose that of conquest or spoliation. Should you occupy 
the South, you will do so as friends and protectors, and your 
30 u2 



234 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

aim will be not to subjugate tliat betrayed and distvacted 
country, but to deliver it from the remorseless military despot- 
ism by wLicli it is trodden down. Union men, who are your 
brethren, throng in those States, and will listen for the coming 
footsteps of your army, as the Scottish maiden of Lucknow 
listened for the airs of her native land. It is true, that amid 
the terrors and darkness which prevail thei'e, they are silenced 
and are now unseen, but be assured that by the light of the 
stars you carry upon your banner jou will find them all. 

" It has been constantly asserted by the conspirators 
throughout the South that this is a war of subjugation on the 
part of tlie Government of the United States, waged for the 
extermination of Southern institutions, and by vandals and 
miscreants, who, in the fury of their passions, spare neither 
age, nor sex, nor property. Even one of the Confederate gen- 
erals has so far steeped himself in infamy as to publish, in 
choice Billingsgate, this base calumny, through an official 
proclamation. In view of what Congress has recently so so- 
lemnly resolved, and in view of the continuous and consistent 
action of the Administration upon the subject, those who, 
through the press and public speeches, persist in repeating the 
wretched slander, are giving utterance to what everybody, 
themselves included, knows to be absolutely and infamously 
false. It will be the first and the highest duty of the Amer- 
ican army as it advances South, by its moderation and human- 
it}'-, by its exemption from eveiy excess and irregularity, and 
by its scrupulous observance of the rights of all, to show how 
foully both it and the Government it represents have been 
traduced. 

" When, therefore, you enter the South, press lightly upon her 
gardens and fields ; guard sacredly her homes ; protect, if need 
be, at the point of your ba3''onets, her institutions and her 
constitutional rights, for you will thereby not only respond 
fully to the spirit and objects of this war, but you will exert 
over alike the oppressed and the infatuated portion of her 
people, a power to which the most brilliant of your military 
successes might not attain. But, when you meet in battle 



OF THE WAR. 235 

array tLose atrocious conspirators who, at the head of armies, 
and through woes unutterable, are seeking the ruin of our 
common country, remember that since the sword flamed over 
the portals of Paradise until now, it has been drawn in no 
holier cause than that in which you are engaged. Remember, 
too, the millions whose hearts are breaking under the anguish 
of this terrible crime, and then strike boldly, strike in the 
power of truth and duty, strike with a bound and a shout, 
well assured that your blows will fall upon ingrates, and trai- 
tors, and parricides, whose lust for power would make of this 
bright land one vast Golgotha, rather than be balked of their 
guilty aims — and may the God of your fathers give you the 
victory. 

" Soldiers : when Napoleon was about to spur on his legions 
to combat on the sands of an African desert, pointing them to 
the Egjq^tian pyramids that loomed up against the far-off hori- 
zon, he exclaimed, * From yonder summits forty centuries look 
down upon you.' The thought was sublime and electric ; but 
you have even more than this. When you shall confi-ont 
those infuriated hosts, whose battle-cry is, 'Down with the Gov- 
ernment of the United States,' let your answering shout be, 
' The Government as our fathers made it ; ' and when you 
strike, remember that not only do the good and the great of the 
past look down upon you from heights infinitely above those 
of Egyptian pyramids, but that uncounted generations yet to 
come are looking up to you, and claiming at your hands the 
unimpaired transmission to them of that priceless heritage 
which has been committed to our keeping. I say its unim- 
paired transmission — in all the amplitude of its outlines, in all 
the symmetry of its matchless proportions, in all the palpitat- 
ing fullness of its blessings ; not a miserably shrivelled and 
shattered thing, charred by the fires and torn by the tempests 
of revolution, and all over polluted and scarred by the bloody 
poinards of traitors. 

" Soldiers : you have come up to your present exalted po- 
sition over many obstacles and through many chilling discour- 
agements. You now proclaim to the world that the battles 



236 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

which are about to be fought in defense of our common coun- 
try, its institutions and its homes, are your battles, and that 
3'ou are determined to share with your fellow-citizens of other 
States alike tlieir dangers and their laurels ; and sure I am that 
this determination has been in nothing shaken by the recent 
sad reverse of arms whose shadow is still resting upon our 
spirits. The country has indeed lost a battle, but it has not 
lost its honor, nor its courage, nor its hopes, nor its resolution 
to conquer. One of those chances to which the fortunes of 
war are ever subject, and against which the most consummate 
generalship cannot at all times provide, has given a momentary 
advantage to the forces of the rebellion. Grouchy did not 
pursue the column of Bulow, and thus Waterloo was won for 
Wellington at the very moment that victory, with her laurelled 
wreath, seemed stooping over the head of Napoleon. So Pat- 
terson did not pursue Johnston, and the overwhelming concen- 
tration of rebel troops that in consequence ensued was pj-obably 
the true cause why the army of the United States was driven 
back, excellent as was its discipline, and self sacrificing as had 
been its feats of valor. Panics, from slight and seemingly in- 
significant causes, have occurred in the best drilled and bravest 
of armies, and they prove neither the want of discipline nor of 
courage on the part of the soldiers. This check has taught us 
invaluable lessons, which we could not have learned from vic- 
toiy, while the dauntless daring displayed by our volunteers, 
is full of promise for the future. Not to mention the intrepid 
bearing of other regiments, who can doubt our future when he 
recalls the brilliant charges of the New York Sixty-ninth, and 
of the Minnesota First, and of the Fire Zouaves ? Leonidas 
himself, while surveying the Persian host, that, like a troubled 
sea, swept onward to the pass where he stood, would have been 
proud of the leadership of such men. We shall rapidly recover 
from this discomfiture, which, after all, will serve only to nerve 
to yet moi-e extraordinary exertions the nineteen millions of 
people \Vho have sworn that this republic shall not perish ; and 
perish it will not, perish it cannot, while this oath remains. 
When we look away to that scene of carnage, all strewed with 



OP THE WAR. 237 

tlie bodies of patriotic men who courted death for themselves 
that their country might live, and then look upon the homes 
which their fall has rendered desolate forever, we realize — what 
I think the popular heart in its forbearance has never complete- 
ly comprehended — the unspeakable a,nd hellish atrocity of this 
rebellion. It is a perfect saturnalia of demoniac passion. From 
the reddened waters of Bull Ran, and from the gory field of 
Manassas, there is now going up an appeal to God and to mil- 
lions of exasperated men, against those fiends in human shape, 
who, drunken with the orgies of an infernal ambition, are fill- 
ing to its brim the cup of a nation's sorrows. Woe, woe, I say, 
to these traitors when this appeal shall be answered ! " 



XXIII 



THE SPIRIT OF VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTH. 

The Southern States, from the first stages of their rebellion 
against the Federal Government, put forward as a justification, 
the oppressions of that central power, and cited the Declaration 
of Independence as their defence. This assumption was indig- 
nantly denied by Northern men ; in Congress and out of it an 
overwhelming sentiment pronounced the rebellion " causeless, 
wicked, and unnatural," with " no justification in the law of the 
country, nor in the higher law of self-protection." From this dis- 
cordance sprung the passions and impulses necessary to feed the 
fires of discord ; and watchful " guardians of Southern inter- 



238 Ils^CIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

ests," were not slow to fan the flames to a point of lawlessness 
necessary to " precipitate" States into the vortex of insurrec- 
tion. Success in the secession movement depended solely on 
the ability of the leaders to fire the popular passions to the 
point of hate of the North, and defiance of its association. 
Without a complete success in that direction, the revolution 
would become nerveless from inanition. A thousand devices 
were conceived to accomplish the desired end ; and the secret 
history of the insurrection, if it ever shall be divulged, will be 
found rich in intrigue, profuse in duplicity, mighty in false- 
hood — all directed to the one purpose of " firing the Southern 
heart." 

The repudiation of debts due to Northern merchants and 
manuficturers, became one of the earliest and most exciting 
'facts of the Southern movement. It argued a demoralized 
sentiment of probity, which equally alarmed and angered the 
Northern people. The Southern merchants had, in exception 
to all commercial usage, obtained credits to an extraordinary 
amount, upon extraordinary time. A customer had but to* 
sa}'', " I am from the Cotton States," in order to obtain almost 
any credit desired. That secret and powerful inquisition, the 
" Commercial Agency," was scarcely consulted as to the 
Southerner's personal standing and commei'cial responsibility 
— so eager was the deluded merchant to secure a " Southern 
trade." The wretched list of fliilures in the winter and spring 
of 1861 ever will remain as a monument of Northern commer- 
cial temerity in the matter of Southern credits. 

The spirit which found an excuse for allowing paper to go 
to protest, and followed the protest with a note expressing 
satisfaction at the refusal to pay, soon betrayed itself in a 
passage of " stay" laws, in the Seceded States, and in the visi- 
tations of violence upon all agents of Northern business firms 
who sought out the recreant debtor in hopes of obtaining some 
satisfaction for the overdue claim. Lawyers banded together 
not to receive Northern claims for collection, while the people 
banded together to drive away any unlucky wight who pro- 
posed to do what the lawyers refused — to collect his own 



OF THE WAR. 239 

accounts. The agents, however, soon " made themselves 
scarce," as the vulgar, but significant, announcements in the 
papers recorded. Tar and feathers, and an escort of a " com- 
mittee of citizens" to the nearest railway station, were such 
inevitable results as served to rid an " indignant community" 
of all "Northern vagabonds" early in the year (1860.) 

These occasional persecutions of collectors and agents 
seemed to engender an appetite for the excitement ; and it 
became a very honorable calling for committees to spy out 
every man of Northern birth — to seek to inculpate him in 
some way, in order to allow of the usual warning " to leave." 
As early as February (1861) these inquisitions became so 
frequent, that large numbers of persons — chiefly Northern-born 
mechanics and tradesmen, who had found employ and a busi- 
ness in the South — fled for their lives, leaving behind all their 
possessions. To meet these refugees in Northern cities became 
of such frequent occurrence, in February and March, that the 
public almost tired of their uniform stories of injuries received 
and sufferings endured. 

The spirit of anger was fast culminating, not in a national, 
or even sectional resentment, but in a species of inhuman 
personal malice, which served to ally that revolution to the 
Sepoy drama. Lawlessness towards Government soon begat 
lawlessness towards society — the dragon's teeth grew with 
fearful fecundity. The demoralization betrayed itself even in 
the changed tone of the secession portion of the Southern 
press. As an evidence, we may quote one of a great many 
similar notices made of General Scott — even by professedly 
respectable journals like the Richmond Inquirer. The 
Montgomery (Alabama) Mail (February 6th) contained this 
paragrpph : 

" We observe that the students of Franklin College, Georgia, burnecl 
General Scott in effigy a few days ago, ' as a traitor to the South.' This 
is well. If any man living deserves such infamy, it is the Lieutenant- 
General of the (Yankee) United States. And we have a proposition to 
make, thereanent, to all the young men of the South, wherever scat- 
tered, at school or college ; and that is, that they burn this man in effigy 
all through the South, on the evening of the 4th of March next. The 



240 IXCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

students of the South are an important class of our rising generation. 
Let them make an epocli in tlie history of our sunny land, to which 
legend, and tale, and song, shall point in after years. General Scott 
deserves this grand infamy. He is a traitor to the soil of his birth ; 
false to all the principles of the Commonwealth which nurtured him ; 
the tool, v.'illing, pliant, and bloody, of our oppressors ; and it is meet 
that his name should descend to our posterity as a word of execration ! 
What say the students ?" 

Some notices of the "war-worn veteran — who had added 
more glory to the American name than any man since the 
" Father of his Country" — were so violent and vulgar as to 
forbid their repetition here, even though they might reflect, 
with stinging severity, upon a state of society which could be 
pleased with such impotent malice. 

To show the nature of the persecutions inflicted on those 
" suspected," in the revolutionary States, we shall cite a few 
from the numerous well-authenticated instances, that they may 
stand before a Christian world, as an evidence of the civiliza- 
tion which springs from a state of society like that which con- 
trols the Southern States of America. 

An advertisement appeared in a New York daily, February 
18th, (1861) as follows : 

" Farming Makagek. — An Englishman by birth, having had very 
extensive experience in breeding, raising, buying and selling of all kinds 
of cattle and sheep in his own countr}^, and who has been engaged 
North in agriculture for three years, and S(;uth for two, is on his way to 
New York, having been exjaelled, and his jjroperty confiscated, on sus- 
picion of being opposed to Slavery. He would like to engage with any 
gentleman having room to grow grain and roots, and to farm on a 
modern, enlightened system, not looking to corn alone. He is forty, 
and has a small family. Address - — — — ." 

This case was that of a person named Gardiner, He had 
taken a farm " on shares," near Wilmington, No^'th Carolina. 
In August, September, and October, he labored assiduously 
and successful!}^, and got a good start. In the Fall he obtained 
about sixty dollars worth of seeds from New York, ready for 
his Spring planting! He was astounded, one day in February, 
to be arrested and thrown into prison, upon representation of 
the fellow whose farm he occupied, that he (Gardiner) was a 



OF THE WAR. 211 

*" dangerous" man. Gardiner procured bail from some of his 
countr3^men, but these men were compelled to withdraw their 
bond, under threats of a similar course towards themselves for 
being " dangerous" citizens. The matter was " compi-omised, 
out of consideration for his (Gardiner's) wife and children," by 
having his household goods hastily thrust on a little schooner 
— on which Gardiner and his family, perfectly penniless, were 
sent to New York. All his property and improvements passed 
into the hands of the good Southern Rights man who had 
instigated the mob, dirA" compelled the authorities to the deed 
of violence. 

Two Jersey men were hung in the vicinity of Charleston, 
early in February, for " suspicion of tampering with slaves." 
An English captain was served with a coat of tar and feathers 
in Savannah, in January, for having allowed a stevedore 
(black) to sit down with him at the dinner-table. Another 
Englishman, belonging in Canada, sailed on a vessel trading 
along coast At Savannah, the vessel was visited by a negro 
having fruit to sell. On leaving, the black man asked for a 
newspaper, and one was given him which happened to contain 
one of Henry Ward Beecher's sermons. The black was caught 
by his master reading the " incendiary" document. Refusing 
to tell how he obtained it, he was .ordered to the whipping- 
post, and flogged until he "confessed." The vessel was 
boarded by the authorities, and a demand made for the 
astonished Canadian. The captain, however, stood before him 
as a British subject ; and, by agreeing to ship the culprit North, 
by the next day's steamer, succeeded in saving him from the 
mob that stood ready on the shore to lynch him. He was 
placed on the steamer, on the morrow, when two " officials" 
came forward with a writ, which they agi'eed not to serve if 
the poor fellow would pay them fifty dollars. This he gladly 
paid, and was suffered to depart, " out of consideration for his 
being a British subject" Had he been a Yankee, he would 
have been hung. 

The following item appeared in the Eufaula (Ala.) Express, 
(February 6th :) 
31 V 



24:2 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" A Suspicious Individual. — The worthy captain of the Home 
Guards arrested a man on last Tuesday, ujjon complaint made by one or 
two of our citizens. The charge was the use of improper language in 
regard to the acts and j)osition of the Southern people at this time. 
Some of the expressions used by this traveling Yankee were, that Bob 
Toombs is a traitor, and that the Secessionists are thieves and robbers, 
and that he fully endorsed everything contained in the Knoxville Whig, 
in regard to coercion, etc. After the examination, which brought out 
the foregoing facts, the committee of five members of the Home Guards, 
appointed to investigate the matter, announced as their decision that as 
the individual under arrest was only guilty of using improper language, 
they would set him at liberty, with a request to settle his business and 
leave as soon as possil^le. An application of tar and feathers Avouldu't 
be at all amiss in such cases. The man's name is M. A. Smith. He is 
traveling agent for Scovil & Mead, of New Orleans, druggists. He will 
bear watching. Pass him around." 

Mr. Smith proceeded on his way. At Abbeville, (Ala.,) he 
was again "apprehended," The Vigilance Committee relieved 
him of his horse and bnggy, $356 in money, and all his 
papers. Then, taking him to a grove one-half mile from town, 
he was hung. No legal proceedings were had in his case — no 
evidence existed as to his asserted " crime," except the news- 
paper's statement. He was dealt with according to the law of 
the super -judicial Vigilance Committee. 

It has been denied that Southern men ever permitted the 
roasting alive of slaves, guilty of the high crime of murder of 
masters, or of the more heinous and diabolical nameless crime 
against females. Proof to the contrary, however, not only is 
not wanting, but is quite abundant, which goes to show that 
that horrible and barbarous mode of execution has been re- 
sorted to for lesser crimes than those indicated — even ujDon 
suspicion. A case in point was freely narrated by the Harris 
County (Geo,) Eniexprise, in February. On the 14th of that 
month a lady named Middlebrook, being alone in her house, 
was alarmed, early in the morning, by the entrance of some 
person. " She hailed the intruder," the paper stated, who, to 
silence her cries, took her from her bed, and, carrying her 
across the yard, " threw her over the fence." This was all. 
No violence upon her person, no maiming — only " the fiend " 



OF TUE WAR. 243 

abused her in a " most shameful manner." He was alarmed 
bj two negro women, and fled. The neighborhood was 
aroused. The lady stated that she believed the perpetrator of 
the outrage to have been a negro man, named George. The 
newspaper account then states : 

" Dogs having been procured, the track was pursued to a neighboring 
Louse, where the boy George had a wife, and thence to the residence of 
Mr. John Middlebrook. Under these circumstances, it was thought ad- 
visable to arrest tlic negro, which was done, and after an investigation 
before a justice of the peace, he was duly committed, and placed in the 
jail in this jJlace, as we thought, to await his trial at the April term of 
cur Superior Court. 

" On Monday morning last a crowd of men from the country assembled 
in our village, and made known their intention to forcibly take the 
negro George from the jail, and execute him in defiance of law or oppo- 
sition. Our efiicient sheriff. Major Hargett, together with most of our 
citizens, remonstrated, persuaded, begged, and entreated them to desist, 
and reflect for a moment upon the consequences which might follow 
such a course, but without avail. Major Hargett promised to guarantee 
the safe-keeping of the prisoner by confining him in any manner they 
might suggest, and our citizens proposed to guard the jail night and 
day, but all to no purpose. There was no appeasing them. They rushed 
to the jail, and, despite of all remonstrances, with axe, hammer, and 
crow-bar, violently broke through the doors, and took the prisoner out, 
carrying him about two miles from town, where they chained him to a 
tree, and hurned Mm to death. 

" We understand that the negro protested his innocence with his last 
breath, though repeatedly urged to confess." 

This horrible record could be written of no civilized country 
on the globe save of the Southern States of America. How 
that last paragraph rings out its silent imprecation upon a 
state of society which would allow such a deed to be commit- 
ted on its soil ! These murderers were " citizens," and, of 
course, never were even questioned as to their crime ; it was 
only a suspected negro whom they burned. This deed was 
committed about fifty miles above Eufaula. 

Atlanta (Geo.) boasted of as violent a people as Eafaula or 
Abbeville. The same spirit which roasted a suspected negro 
would have hung a white man who might have been guilty 
of offence to the sensitive people. The Intelligencer, of Atlanta, 



244 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

in February, thus paragraphed the public sentiment of that 
locality, in regard to the editor of the Nashville (Tenn.) Demo- 
crat, who had pronounced Jefferson Davis a great humbug : 

" If Mr. Hurley will come to Atlanta, we take the responsibility of 
saying that his tavern bill or his burial expenses shall not cost him any- 
thing. The only thing whioh strikes our astonishment is, that the 
people of Nashville would tolerate such a paper as the Democrat in their 
midst. General Jackson, whose bones repose Avithin twelve miles of 
the City of Nashville, doubtless turned in the grave when such abom- 
inable doctrines were permitted to go forth from a Nashville paper," 

These " abominable doctrines" were, loving the Union more 
than the newly-hatched Southern Confederacy — that was all. 
How many men were hung for the same crime in that delec- 
table neighborhood, the Vigilance Committee only knew. 

The statement of Mary Crawford, made public in the winter 
of 1861, detailed, with painful minuteness, the sad story of her 
husband's awful murder in Tarrant County, Texas, July 17th, 
1860. The man was taken on suspicion of being an Abolitionist, 
and, after being shot, was hung. The wretched wife, informed 
by her two little boys (who had been with their father out to 
haul wood, when Crawford was seized) of their fears, had 
started out to learn something of her husband's fate. She had 
proceeded but a short distance when a party of men informed 
her, with indifference, that her husband was hung. The 
narrative read : 

" They took me back to the place we had been living in. My grief, 
my indignation, my misery, I have no words, no desire to describe. The 
body was not brought to me until night, and only then by the direction 
of Captain Dagget, a son-in-law and jjartner of Turner (for whom Craw- 
ford had done much work,) who had been a friend to my husband, and 
was the only man of any influence who dared to befriend me. He had 
been away from home, and did not return until after the murder had 
been done. He denounced the act, and said they killed an innocent 
man." 

The local newspaper — the Fort Worth Chief- — thus chronicled 
the tragedy : 

" Man Hung. — On the 17th instant, was found the body of a man by 
the name of William H. Crawford, suspended to a pecan-tree, about 
three-quarters of a mile from town. A large number of persons visited 



OF THE WAR. 245 

the body during the day. At a meeting of the citizens the same even- 
ing, strong evidence was adduced proving him to have been an Abo- 
litionist. The meeting endorsed the action of the party who hung him. 
Below we give the verdict of the jury of inquest : 

" ' We, the jury, find that William H. Crawford, the deceased, came to his death 
by being hung with a grass rope tied around liis neck, and suspended from a pecan 
limb, by some person or persons to the jurors unknown. That he was hung on 
the 17th day of July, 1860, between the hours of 9 o'clock a. m. and 1 o'clock p. m. 
We could see no other marks of violence on the person of the deceased.' " 

This man Turner — a lawyer, and an owner of forty slaves — • 
was one of those persons who arraigned Crawford in the pre- 
sence of his little boys, and had borne him away from their 
sight to hang him. The j ury took no steps, of course, to learn 
anything in regard to the murderers. Indeed, the act was not 
only justified, but, out of it, grew an organization which suc- 
ceeded in whipping, banishing, and hanging over two hundred 
persons — three Methodist ministers included — in the course of 
the succeeding three months, under plea of their being "Abo- 
lition emissaries," who had instigated the burning of property, 
and incited negroes to run away. The report of that meeting 
deserves repetition, in illustration of the manner in which the 
slave districts care for their morals and their safety : 

" At a large and respectable meeting of the citizens of Tarrant 
County, convened at the Town Hull, at Fort Worth, on the 18th day 
of July, 1860, pursuant to previous notice, for the purpose of devising 
means for defending the lives and property of citizens of the county 
against the machinations of Abolition incendiaries, J. P. Alford was 
called to the chair, and J. C. Terrell was appointed Secretary. After 
the object of the meeting was explained by Colonel C. A. Harper, the 
following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

" ' Whereas, The recent attempts made to destroy several neighboring towns by 
fire, the nearly total destruction of one of them, coupled with the conversation 
and acts of one W. H. Crawford, who was hung in this county on the 17th instant, 
prove conclusively to us the necessity of an organized effort to ferret out and 
punish Abolition incendiaries, some of whom are believed to be in our county. 
Therefore, to discover and punish said Abolitionists, and to secure the lives and 
property of our citizens, be it 

" ' Resolved, That we endorse the action of those who hung W. H. Crawford in 
this county on the 17th instant, convinced as we are, from the evidence upon which 
he was hung, that he richly deserved his fate. 

"'Resolved, That a Central County Committee be appointed by the President, 
consisting of seven citizens, whose duty it shall be to appoint such Committees in 

v2 



246 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

every precinct in the county, which sub-CoDimittees shall confer with and report 
to the Central Committee the names of all suspected persons in their precincts, 
which persons shall be dealt with according to the pleasure of the Central 
Committee. 

" 'Resolved, That the members of this meeting hereby pledge themselves to sup- 
port said Central Committee in the discharge of their duty in dealing with Aboli- 
tionists and incendiaries. 

" ' JAMES P. ALFORD, Chairman, 

" ' J. C. TERRELL, Secretary.' 

" The Central Committee hereby notify all persons connected wiih or 
holding Abolition sentiments to leave the county forthwith, or they 
may possibly have cause to regret remaining." 

It is probable that every one of the men persecuted were as 
innocent of offense as Crawford. " Abolition emissaries" were 
not necessary to instruct negroes Low to fire houses. The 
"Abolitionists" were, without exception, men having a calling, 
and pursuing it peaceably ; but, being Northerners, and living 
without holding slaves, were proofs conclusive of their danger- 
our character to the "highly respectable citizens" of Texas.* 

The case of Mrs. Catharine Bottsford, as published at length 
in the New York Tribune of March 22d, afforded the age with 
an evidence that even in the civilized city of Charleston, South 
Cai'olina, an intelligent, honorable, and unprotected lady could 
be thrown into prison and be made to suffer indignities be- 
cause some person had said she had "tampered with slaves." 

Arthur Eobinson, of New Orleans, publisher of the True 
Witness, a religious paper of the Old School Presbyterian de- 
nomination, was arrested, and thrown into j^rison without the 
usual forms of law. After laying there some time, he was 
taken into the criminal court for trial. The indictment, how- 
ever, was so ignorantly drawn that he was set at liberty pend- 
ing a second arrest. His friends managed to effect his escape 
up the river. He lost everything. His "crime" was, not in 
saying or publishing anything offensive, but a " committee" 

* When Wigfall stated, on the floor of the United States Senate, 
that men were hanging from trees in Texas for opinion's sake, he was 
known to tell the truth, then, for a certainty. Lovejoy, of Illinois, in 
vain tried to get the case of the Methodist ministers, (one of whom was 
hung and others whipped,) before Congress. 



OF THE WAR. 247 

having searcTied his premises, found " seditions" literature in 
his possession, and for that he was made to suffer. He would 
have been consigned to the State's Prison for having the Bos- 
ton Liberator on his exchange list, had it not been for the flaw 
in. his first indictment, and his escape from another arrest. 

John Watt, a citizen of Michigan, was working near Yicks- 
burg, Mississippi, in January. While under the influence of 
liquor a "committee" extracted from him " dangerous senti- 
ments," and he was taken over the river into Louisiana and 
hung, and his bodj left hanging to the tree. 

Tbe first ofiicer of the bark Indian Queen made a statement 
in the New York journals, March 16th, to the eflect that the 
vessel put into St. Marks, Florida, in January — himself and 
his second officer both being ill of the Chagres fever. Both 
were sent ashore to the United States Marine Hospital at that 
place, for proper care, while the vessel anchored in the harbor 
below, to await their recovery. As soon as Florida seceded, 
(January 11th,) the Hospital was seized and the invalids turn- 
ed out. The vessel lay at anchor about ten miles below the 
town. She had, as part of her crew, seven colored seamen — 
all able and trusty fellows. A plot was hatched to seize all 
these men and sell them into slavery — a judge of the Supreme 
(State) Court being one of the conspirators. The plot was re- 
vealed to the captain at two o'clock in the morning. He arose, 
hired a steamer, ran down to his vessel, and had her towed out 
to sea, beyond the jurisdiction of Florida. The discomfited 
citizens swore dreadfully over their disappointment. 

The same officer stated that, a few days after the Ordinance 
of Secession was passed, a resident of St. Marks remarked that 
the South was wrong and the North right in the controversy. 
Whereupon, he was seized, stripped, whipped, and started "out 
of the country." 

" Mr. H. Turner, a New Hampshire man, had for several 
years, spent the winter on the plantation of Woodworth & Son, 
near Charleston, South Carolina. Before the Presidential elec- 
tion, in reply to the question of a fellow-workman, he had 
stated that, if he held the casting vote, it should be given for 



248 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Lincoln. Two weeks after the election he was visited by two 
members of a "Vigilance Committee," who asked if what had 
been reported was true. He answered that he had made that 
single remark to a fellow-workman, but to no other person. A 
warrant for his arrest, as an incendiary and Abolitionist, was 
produced, and he was taken to Charleston to jail. Around the 
jail a mob of "citizens" gathered, demanding that the jailor 
should give up the prisoner to them. It was only dispersed 
by the horse patrol. He was allowed neither food nor water. 
On the afternoon of the day succeeding his arrest, he was taken 
before the "Vigilance Association Tribunal," for examination. 
Confessing, again, that he had said to the workman what was 
reported, he was remanded back to jail, to be passed over to 
the Ci'iminal Court. The " Judge" of the Tribunal treated the 
prisoner with a choice lecture, chiefly composed of oaths and 
imprecations. He was placed in a bare cell, where the night 
was spent ; and only on the morning of the second day's con- 
finement was he allowed food, consisting of a sm.all piece of 
black bread and a pint of bad water. ^ ox fourteen weeks this 
man lay in that loretched dungeon. At the end of that time the 
son of his employer came to the jail, and stated that his wages, 
$248, still due, should be paid him, and his release procured, 
if he would leave at once. This promise was gladly given. 
He was taken to the steamer amid the hootings and bowlings 
of a mob, which made threats of lynching. On the way to 
the steamer, he called upon a watchmaker for a fine watch "he 
had left for repairs before his arrest. The watchmaker bade 
him, with an oath, to leave his premises. Once on the steam- 
er, he expected his wages, as promised ; but he received no- 
thing, and was permitted to work his passage to New York, 
where he arrived in a perfectly destitute condition. 

Captain E. W. Eider, of the bark Jidia E. Aery, and his son 
James B. Ryder, as mate, were landing a cargo at Encero 
Mills, Camden County, Georgia, in November, 1860, when a 
negro came aboard the vessel with oars to sell None being 
wanted, he was sent away. He paid a second visit, and some 
clothes were intrusted to him to wash, upon his telling- that he 



OF THE WAR. 249 

belonged to a Dr. Nichols, living near. That afternoon five 
men came to the vessel, and demanded the ris;ht to search for 
the negro. The captain gave permission for the search, freely, 
but stated that the fellow had gone ashore, taking with him 
some clothes to wash. The five men completed the search 
which, it became evident to the captain, was but a cover for 
the " citizens" to examine his cargo, his means of resistance, 
&c., as wxll as to discover, if possible, some "Abolition lite- 
rature" by which to seize the entire crew and vessel as " dan- 
gerous to the peace of the community." The " Committee" 
returned on the following day, late in the evening. It had 
grown to fifteen in number, who proceeded to thoroughly ran- 
sack the vessel's hold. Every chest and bunker were over- 
hauled. Nothing " dangerous" being found, the " Committee" 
passed on shore where, summoning the negroes who had been 
engaged in unloading the vessel, they examined them as to 
the conversations on the vessel. Six of them were finally most 
unmercifully whipped, to make them " confess." What they 
confessed, was not known to the captain ; but, as they prob- 
ably stated anything required, the mob, it soon became evi- 
dent, was ready for proceedings. The captain and his son 
went before the " Committee" and stated that, not only had 
no conversation been had, but that they had positively forbid- 
den any unnecessary communication between his men and the 
negroes — that one or the other of the officers always was pre- 
sent, to see that orders were obeyed. This did not satisfy the 
" Committee," and the two were taken to the jail at Jefferson, 
fifteen miles away. There they were again arraigned before 
another " Vigilance Association," and charged with being 
Abolitionists — a charge which both men denied as unfounded 
in proof. No proof being produced, they were allowed to 
spend that night at a hotel. A cook (black) from another 
vessel was produced on the succeeding morning, who stated 
that he had Jieard both white men say they were Kepublicans, 
and would have voted for Mr. Lincoln if an opportunity had 
offered. The black fellow who had taken the clothes to wash, 
was then brought forward, and he corroborated the statement 
32 



250 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

of the other black man. This was deemed evidence conclu- 
sive to the " Committee," and the sentence of a public flogging 
was immediately decreed against both father and son. This 
was deemed a lenient punishment — hanging was the usual 
mode of treating " such scoundrels." The inhuman wretches 
took their prisoners to the front of the court-house, where, both 
being stripped to the waist and tied to a tree, they were whip- 
ped — twenty-five blows with heavy leather thongs being 
administered to each. The elder Ryder, being an old man, 
was a terrible sufferer under the horrible infliction. After 
" punishment" both were thrust into cells in the jail. The 
large crowd which witnessed the whipping enjoyed it, appa- 
rently with a real zest, as it jeered and laughed vociferously 
during the brutal punishment. The two men lay fowieen days 
in that jail, suffering exquisite tortures from their wounds. 
At the end of that time five men came, took them out, carried 
them to their vessel, and remained until the craft stood out 
to sea. 

This instance of atrocious wrong was simply one of several 
similar cases inflicted in the same neighborhood. The civil- 
ized world may be excused for doubting evidence so inhuman ; 
but, there is no room for disbelief when an old man's scarred 
back is exhibited to the pitying eye. 

We may close this revolting record with the following state- 
ment made by the Cincinnati Gazette, of May 18th, 1861 : 

" Nearly every day some fresh arrivals of refugees from the violence and 
ferocity of the New Dahomey bring to this city fresh and corroborative 
proofs of the condition of affairs in the rebel States. Many of these have 
come thence at the peiil of their lives, and to avoid threatened death,have 
taken a hurried journey surrounded by thick dangers from the madmen 
■who now fill the South with deeds of violence and bloodshed. 

"The people in that section seem to have been given up to a madness 
that is without parallel in the history of civilization — wc had almost 
written barbarism. They are cut off from the news of the North, pur- 
posely blinded by their leaders as to the movements and real power of the 
Government, and in their local presses receive and swallof^ the most out- 
rageous falsehoods and misstatements. 

"Yesterday, one William Silliman, a person of intelligence and reli- 
ability, reached this city, returning from a year's residence in Southern 



OF THE WAR. 251 

Mississippi. He was one of a party who, in I860 went from this city and 
engaged in the construction of the Mobile and Ohio Raih-oad. 

" Mr. Silliraan, for several months past, has lived in Cupola, Itawamba 
County, one of the lower tier of counties, two hundred miles from New 
Orleans, and one hundred and sixty miles from Mobile. ' He says a more 
blood-thirsty community it would be difficult to conceive. Perfect terror- 
ism prevails, and the wildest outrages are enacted openly by the rebels 
who visit with violence all suspected of loyalty, or withholding full ad- 
lierence to the kingdom of JeiFerson Davis. Could the full history of theso 
outrages be written, and that truthfully, many and most of its features 
would be deemed incredible and monstrous, belonging to another a^e and 
certainly to another country than our own, 

" The party who is suspected of hostility, or even light sympathy, with 
the rebellion, is at once seized. He is fortunate if he is allowed to leave 
in a given time, without flogging. Ho is still fortunate if only a flog- 
ging is added to the order to depcrt. Many have been hung or shot on 
the spot. Mr. Silliman details five instances of the latter as havinp- oc- 
curred among the amiable people of Itawamba County, witliin the past 
ten Aveeks, of several of which he was the eye-witness, a mob wreakin"- 
their vengencc upon their victims under the approval of local autliorities. 
These five men were Northerners, at diflerent times assailed by the rebels. 
Three of them were strangers to all about them. 

"On Saturday of hist week a man was hung at Guntown, who refused 
to join the rebel army, and also refused to leave. He was taken to a tree 
in the outskirts of the village, and left hanging to a limb. He had a 
family in the i^lace. Guntown is ten miles from Cupola. The same day, 
at Saltillo, a man was hung under similar circumstances, and still anoth- 
er at Vonona, where a traveller Avas seized in jjasfcing through the jjlacc. 
All these towns are Avithin twenty miles circuit of Cupola, Avhere Mr. Silli- 
man resided. He says that he can recall twelve instances of killing, 
whipping, and other outrages thus visited upon the victims of the rebels 
in that vicinity, Avithin the jsast two months. Many have been Avaitinw 
in the hope that the storm Avould ' blow over,' but have, one after the 
other, been forced to submit or seek safety in flight." 

The instances herein given are such as seemed to ns to be 
so verified as to admit of no doubt as to their entire truthful- 
ness. Many others made public, and some of a most outra- 
geous character, which have been repeated to us by refugees 
in person, we have refrained from referring to, since a sus- 
picious public might question the authenticity of their unsup- 
ported statements. Enough has been given to throw an his- 
torical light upon the animus of the Southern people engaged 



252 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

in the revolution. The future historian of the great rebelhon 
will not fail to discover in that spirit, not onl v a key to the 
social state of that section of the country, but will, if he be a 
disciple of Schlegel, find in it an effect of a cause — which cause 
had sedulously, and for generations, insensibly underminded 
the moral sentiments of the people. 



XXIV 



TREASON IN TENNESSEE. 

The history of Tennessee, during the first six months of 
1861, forcibly illustrates the spirit of secession, proving it to 
be — as Johnson, Brownlow, Holt, and others have character- 
ized it — the diabolical spirit. 

The State, it will be remembered, voted (1861) for John Bell 
and Edward Everett for President and Vice-President — the 
vote being Bell, 69,274 ; Breckenridge, 64,709 ; Douglas, 
11,350. Bell was the Union candidate, and was voted for as 
such. The Union sentiment, however, gave a still more 
emphatic expression in February (1861,) when the State voted 
on the question of " Convention" or " no Convention," — result- 
ing in a majority against a Convention to consider an Ordi- 
nance of Secession, of over sixty thousand. This, of course, 
closed the door against the designs of the Confederate conspi- 
rators, who only required a Convention to throw the State into 
the Confederacy, in spite of the people. But, men bent upon 
treason do not stand upon ceremony. If the people would not 
call a Convention, then other ways must be divised to accom- 
plish the fell design. It was not long ere the instrument of 
tyranny was found. The people, and, we may say, the entu-e 



OF THE WAE. 253 

country not in the confidence of Jefferson Davis, were astounded 
to learn, on the morning of May 8th, that they were transferred 
to the keeping of a Confederate army ; that an Ordinance of 
Secession was adopted, (to be voted on by the people, June 
8th, after time enough had been allowed to place Confederate 
troops in every section to intimidate, overawe, arrest, and 
" punish" Unionists, as enemies) ; that, the Legislature had 
adopted (to go into immediate force) the Provisional Constitu- 
tion of the Confederate States ; thus consummating, in one 
dark secret session (May 6th) all that the most ardent con- 
spirator could desire. The *' League" entered into with the 
Confederate authorities, by which Tennessee was transferred, 
beyond'the power of redemption, into the keeping of Jefferson ■ 
Davis, was as follows : 

" CONVENTION BETWEEN THE STATE OP TENNESSEE AND THE CONFED- 
ERATE STATES OP AMERICA. 

" Tlie State of Tennessee, looking to a speedy admission into the Con- 
federacy established by the Confederate States of America, in accordance 
with the Constitution for the Provisional Government of said States, 
enters into the following temporary Convention, agreement and military 
league with the Confederate States, for the purpose of meeting jiressing 
exigencies affecting the common rights, interests and safety of said 
States and said Confederacy. 

" First. Until the said State shall become a member of said Confede- 
racy, according to the Constitutions of both powers, the whole military 
force and military operations, offensive and defensive, of said State, in 
the impending conflict with the United States, shall be under the chief 
control and direction of the President of the Confederate States upon 
the same basis, principles and footing as if said State were now and 
during the interval, a member of said Confederacy. Said forces, togeth- 
er with that of the Confederate States, to be employed for the common 
defense. 

" Second. The State of Tennessee will, upon becoming a member of 
said Confederacy, under the permanent Constitution of said Confederate 
States, if the same shall occur, turn over to said Confederate States, all 
the public property, naval stores and munitions of war, of which she 
may then be in possession, acquired froui the United States, on the same 
terms, and in the same manner, as the other States of said Confederacy 
have done in like cases. 

" Tkinl. Whatever expenditures of money, if any, the said State of 



254 IXCIDEKTS AND ANECDOTES 

Tennessee sliall make before she becomes a member of said Confederacy, 
shall be met and provided for by the Confederate States. 

" This Convention entered into and agreed on, in the city of Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, on the seventh day of May, A. D. 1861, by Henry W. 
Hilliard, the duly authorized Commissioner, to act in the matter for the 
Confederate States, and Gustavus A. Henry, Archibald W. O. Totten 
and Washington Barrow, Commissioners duly authorized to act in like 
manner for the State of Tennessee. The whole subject to the approval 
and ratification of the proper authorities of both Governments, respect- 
ively." 

This infamous and treaclieroiis sale of tlie State, -wifhout the 
knowledge or consent of the people, of course sealed the fate 
of that Commonwealth, and thereafter Tennessee was to live 
in a terrorism bordering on barbarism. The invasion, of the 
Huns, bringing fire and sword to civilized homes, was a coun- 
terpart of the invasion of Tennessee by the vagabonds of 
Alabama, the cut-throats of Mississippi, and the desperadoes 
of Texas and Arkansas. 

Davis was given possession of his property May 7th, and 
almost immediately his turbulent hordes rushed in, to the 
great consternation of society, and more particularly to the 
Unionists, who, from that moment, lived in a state of appre- 
hension wdiich soon drove them into the ranks of secession, for 
self protection. Thousands upon thousand accepted the order 
of things instated at the point of the bayonet ; and when June 
8th came, the vote for the Ordinance of Secession was over- 
whelming. A few brave souls dared to stem the tide of 
treason. One of these was Parson Brownlow, of Knoxville, 
whose paper, the Whig, fairly scintillated with its flashes of 
scorn and indignation at the betrayal of the State by the 
Governor and the secretly manoeuvred Xjegislature — a body 
utterly without constitutional power to act upon such matters 
as it considered and adopted. He immediately sounded the 
alarum, among other things saying : 

" In June we are called upon to vote for or against this 
Ordinance of Secession, and all its train of evils, such as enor- 
mous taxes, and the raising of fifty thousand troops 1 Will 
the people ratify it, or will they reject it ? Let every man, 



OF THE WAR. 255 

old and jonng, halt and blind, contrive to be at tbe polls on 
that da}^ If we lose then, our liberties are gone, and we are 
swallowed np bj a militaiy despotism more odious than any 
now existing in any monarchy in Europe." 

Brownlow, Maynard, Etheridge, Johnson and Nelson imme- 
diately entered the field, hoping to arouse the people to a 
sense of the danger impending. Johnson being in "Washing- 
ton, hastened home by way of Virginia, to enter upon the 
crusade against secession. At numerous places in the do- 
minions of Governor Letcher he was treated with great indig- 
nity by the Virginia chivalry ; but, he forebore to resent the 
injuries heaped upon him and his cause, not daring to jeopar- 
dize an arrest. Arrived on Tennessee soil, he at once took 
the stump against the tyranny inaugurated. At Elizabeth- 
town, May 15th, an immense Union meeting was addressed by 
Johnson, T. A. K. Nelson, and N. G, Taylor. Other meetings 
rapidly followed ; but the minions of the Confederacy were 
after the speakers ; and, by June 1st, it became necessary for 
the Union speakers to flee from Central Tennessee. May 81st, 
the Louisville Journal published this item : 

" "We don't know wliei'e Mr. Etheridge is at this time, bnt, ■wherever 
he may be, we would warn him of the danger of his returning to Ten- 
nessee. We could give him facts, which would convince him that he 
can return only at the imminent risk of his life. Instructions have cer- 
tainly been given by General Pillow that he shall be hung, or shot, or 
otherwise killed at the first opportunity. He has been keenly watched 
for in all direction. Men were hunting for him last night in the cars, 
at or near the Tennessee line." 

In Eastern Tennessee the loyal sentiment was so thoroughly 
awakened that, when the day came (June 8th) for expressing 
at the ballot-box their opinions of the Ordinance and its prin- 
ciples, th* vote was thirty-two thousand nine hundred and 
thirty-two — being a majority of over eighteen thousand for 
the Union. It was otherwise in those sections of the State 
where Confederate troops were gathered. The A^-ote was : 

jSejjaration. Ko Separation, 

Middle Tennessee, . . . 58,269 8,198 

Western " ... 29,127 6,117 



256 ' INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

making tlie aggregate State majority stand fifty-seven thou- 
sand six hundred and sixty -seven for " separation." 

So palpably constrained was this declared vote, that the 
Unionists of East Tennessee gathered in mass Convention at 
Greenville, June 17th, (1861,) to protest against the tyranny 
inaugurated over them. Every county was fully represented 
except Rhea, as the Knoxville Whig said, " by delegates who, 
for sound practical sense, determination of will and patriotic 
purpose, would have done honor to any constituency." The 
Address adopted detailed the facts of that election— how in 
West and Middle Tennessee the people were overawed, bul- 
lied, perseciited, into an adoption of the Ordinance— how the 
Secessionists had prepared for the furtherance of their schemes 
even though the State had voted " No Separation"— how no 
provision was made for examining the returns otherwise than 
by a disunion Governor, whose hold on power depended upon 
the success of the secession programme— how " volunteers" in 
the secession army were allowed to vote within and ivithout 
the State contrary to any law — how discussion was forbidden 
in those sections where the secession vote was triumphant, 
while every Union paper there was crushed out — how a mili- 
tary despotism was ruling in spite of the wishes and rights of 
the people. The Address then went on to say : 

" We prefer to remain attaclied to the Government of our fathers. 
The Constitution of the United States has done us no wrong. The 
Congress of the United States has passed no law to oppress us. The 
President of the United States has made no threat against the law 
abiding people of Tennessee. Under the Government of the United 
States we have enjoyed as a nation more of civil and religious freedom 
than any other people under the whole heaven. We believe there is no 
cause for rebellion or secession on the part of the people of Tennessee. 
None was assigned by the Legislature in their miscalled D^laration of 
Independence. No adequate cause can be assigned. The select com- 
mittee of that body asserted a gross and inexcusable f\xlsehood in their 
address to the people of Tennessee when they declared that the Gov- 
ernment of the United States has made war upon them. 

" The secession cause has thus far been sustained by deception and 
falsehood : by falsehoods as to the action of Congress ; by false dis- 
patches as to battles that were never fought and victories that were 



OF THE "WAR, 257 

never won ; by false accounts as to tlie purposes of tlie President ; by 
false representations as to the views of Union men, and by false pre- 
tenses as to the facility with which the secession troops would take 
possession of the Capital and capture the highest officers of the Govern- 
ment. The cause of secession or rebellion has no charms for us, and its 
progress has been marked by the most alarming and dangerous attacks 
upon the public liberty. In other States, as well as our own, its whole 
course threatens to annihilate the last vestige of freedom. "While peace 
and prosperity have blessed us in the Government of the United States, 
the following may be enumerated as some of the fruits of secession. 

" It was urged forward by members of Congress who were sworn to 
support the Constitution of the United States, and were themselves 
supported by the Government ; it was effected without consultation 
with all the States interested in the slavery question, and without 
exhausting peaceable remedies. It has plunged the country into civil 
war, paralyzed our commerce, interfered with the whole trade and busi- 
ness of our country, lessened the value of our property, destroyed many 
of the pursuits of life, and bids fair to involve the whole nation in irre- 
trievable bankruptcy and ruin. It has changed the entire relations of 
States and adopted constitutions without submitting them to a A'ote of 
the people, and where such a vote has been authorized, it has been upon 
the condition prescribed by Senator Mason, of Virginia, that those who 
voted the Union ticket ' must leave the State.' It has advocated a con- 
stitutional monarchy, a king and a dictator, and is, through the Rich- 
mond press, at this moment recommending to the Convention in Vir- 
ginia a restriction of the right of suffrage, aud ' in severing connection 
with the Yankees, to abolish every vestige of resemblance to the insti- 
tutions of that detested race.' It has formed military leagues, passed 
military bills, and opened the door for oppressive taxation, without 
consulting the jDcople ; and then, in mockery of a free election, has re- 
quired them by their votes to sanction its usurpations, under the penal- 
ties of moral j^roscription or at the point of the bayonet. It has offered 
a premium for crime in directing the discharge of volunteers from crim- 
inal prosecutions, and in recommending the Judges not to hold their 
courts. It has stained our statute book with the repudiation of North- 
ern debts, and has greatly violated the constitution by attempting, 
through its unlawful extension, to destroy the right of suffrage. It has 
called upon the j^eople in the State of Georgia, and may soon require 
the people of Tennessee, to contribute all their surplus cotton, corn, 
wheat, bacon, beef, &c., to the support of pretended governments alike 
destitute of money and credit. It has attempted to destroy the account- 
ability of public servants to the people by secret legislstion, and set the 
obligation of an oath at defiance. It has passed laws declaring it trea- 
33 w2 



258 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

son to say or do anything in fovor of tlie Government of the United 
States, or against the Confederate States, and such a law is now before, 
and we apprehend will soon be passed, by the Legislature of Tennessee. 
It has attempted to destroy, and, we fear soon, utterly prostrate the 
freedom of speech and of the press. It has involved the Southern 
States in a war whose success is hopeless, and which must ultimately 
lead to the ruin of the people. Its bigoted, overbearing and intolerant 
spirit has already subjected the people of East Tennessee to many petty 
grievances : our people have been insulted ; our flags have been fired 
ui^on and torn down ; our houses have been rudely entered ; our fami- 
lies subjected to insult ; our peaceable meetings interrupted ; our wo- 
men and children shot at by a merciless soldiery ; our towns pillaged ; 
our citizens robbed, and some of them assassinated and murdered. No 
effort has been spared to deter the Union men of East Tennessee from 
the expression of their free thoughts. The penalties of treason have 
been threatened against them, and murder and assassination have been 
openly encouraged by leading secession journals. As secession has been 
thus overbearing and intolerant while in the minority in East Tennes- 
see, nothing better can be expected of the pretended majority than 
wild, unconstitutional and oppressive legislation ; an utter contempt 
and disregard of law ; a determination to force every Union man in the 
State to swear to the support of a constitution he abhors ; to yield his 
money and property to aid a cause he detests, and to become the ob- 
ject of scorn and derision as well as the victim of intolerable and re- 
lentless oppression. In view of these considerations, and of the fact 
that the people of East Tennessee have declared their fidelity to the 
Union by a majority of about twenty thousand votes, therefore, we do 
resolve and declare : 

" RESOLUTIONS. 

" 1. That we do earnestly desire the restoration of peace to our whole country, 
and most especially that our own section of the State of Tennessee should not be 
involved in civil war. 

" 2. That the action of our State Legislature in passing the so-called ' Declara- 
tion of Independence' and in forming the ' Military League' with the Confederate 
States, and in adopting other acts looliing to a separation of the State of Tennes- 
see from the Government of the United States, is unconstitutional and illegal, and 
therefore not binding upon us as loyal citizens. 

" 3. That in order to avert a conflict with our brethren in other parts of the 
State, and desiring that all constitutional means shall be resorted to for the preser- 
vation of peace, we do, therefore, constitute and appoint 0. P Temple, of Knox; 
John Netherland, of Hawkins ; and James P. McDowell, of Greene, commissioners, 
whose duty it shall be to prepare a memorial and cause the same to be presented 
to the General Assembly of Tennessee, now in session, asking its consent that the 



OF THE WAR. 259 

counties composing East Tennessee, and such counties in Middle Tennessee as de- 
sire to co-operate with them, may form and erect a separate State. 

" i. Desiring, in good faith, that the General Assembly will grant this our rea- 
sonable request; and still claiming the right to determine our own destiny, we do 
further resolve that an election be held in all the counties of East Tennessee, and 
in sur.h other counties in Middle Tennessee adjacent thereto as may desire to co- 
operate with us, for the choice of delegates to represent them in a General Con- 
vention, to be held in the town of Kingston at such time as the President of this 
Convention, or, in case of his absence or inability, any one of the Vice-Presidents, 
or, in like case with them, the Secretary of this Convention may designate ; and 
the officer so designating the day for the assembling of said Convention shall also 
fix the time for holding the election herein provided for, and give reasonable notice 
thereof. 

" 5. In order to carry out the foregoing resolution, the sheriffs of the different 
counties are hereby requested to open and hold said election, or cause the same 
to be so held, in the usual manner and at the usual places of voting, as prescribed 
by law ; and in the event the sheriff of any county should fail or refuse to open 
and hold said election, or cause the same to be done, the coroner of such county 
is requested to do so, and should such coroner fail or refuse, then any constable 
of such county is hereby authorized to open and hold said election, or cause the 
same to be done. And if in any county none of the above named ofiBcers will hold 
said election, then any Justice of the Peace or freeholder in such county is author- 
ized to hold the same, or cause it to be done. The officer or other person holding 
said election shall certify the result to the President of this Convention, or to such 
officer as may have directed the same to be holden, at as early a day thereafter as 
practicable ; and the officer to whom said returns may be made, shall open and 
compare the polls and issue certificates to the delegates elected." 

It was not long before those Unionists and protestants 
against wrong were flying for their lives, and were hunted 
down like wild beasts. The leaders disappeared from obser- 
vation, and the people could only acquiesce in a state of affairs 
which, in the presence of the armed minions of the Southern 
Confederacy, they were powerless to prevent 



xxv. 



PERSECUTION OF UNIONISTS IN TENNESSEE. PARSON 
BROWNLOW'S STORY. 

The storj of suffering in Tennessee forms one of the most 
painful, as it is one of the most revolting features of the rebel- 
lion. We can realize how men of one section united by no 
ties of relationship nor of social sympathy should fall out, and 
become rank enemies, but not how the people of a neighbor- 
hood could so far ignore old friendships, old associations, har- 
monious sympathies on social and moral questions, as to pro- 
ceed to bitter extremities of violence with their neighbors who 
differed with them on the question of secession. That they 
did resort to such extremities the stories of hundreds of per- 
secuted, exiled and ruined Unionists testify ; and the fact 
illustrates, in a vivid light, the hateful nature of the secession 
sentiment. 

We have already devoted a chapter to the " Spirit of Vio- 
lence" in the Southern States, giving such instances of that 
spirit as will afford the reader much " food for thought." But, 
all therein stated is nothing as compared to the sufferings, the 
wrongs, the wretchedness, inflicted upon the men and women 
of Tennessee. It is a particularly unpleasant task to repeat 
the story of these outrages because it is so humiliating to our 
boasted American civilization ; but, it should be repeated, over 
and over again, to teach American youths the inestimable 
value of law and order, and the repulsive nature of all revo- 
lutionary assaults upon the constituted authority. There is, 
too, a propriety in the recollection of those sufferings for opin- 



OF THE WAR. 261 

ion's sake, because tliey illustrate that trait of a trulj noble 
human nature — power to resist wrong even unto death. The 
devotion of tlie few brave men who courted dungeons, confis- 
cation of property, the lash and the gallows for their faith in 
the Union, ever will stand as examples worthy of the emula- 
tion and admiration of every lover of their country. 

Parson Brownlow, after the election, (June 8th, 1861,) be- 
came the recipient of indignities from the Secessionists. His 
house, up to midsummer of that year, floated the American 
flag, though many an attempt was made to drag it down. 
Early in June a Louisiana regiment, en route for Virginia, tar- 
ried at Knoxville, awaiting transportation over the railway, 
then crowded beyond its capacity. Of this and other regi- 
ments which laid over at the same place, the Parson said : 
" During May and June a stream of whisky-drinking, seces- 
sion fire, hot as hell, commenced to pour through Knoxville, 
in the direction of Manassas. These mean scoundrels visited 
the houses of Union men, shouted at them, groaned and hiss- 
ed. My humble dwelling had the honor to be thus greeted 
oftener than any other five houses in Knoxville. The South- 
ern papers said they were the flower of their youth. I said 
to my wife, if this is the flower, God save us from the rabble." 

Upon one of these occasions nine members of the Louisiana 
regiment determined to see the flag humbled. Two men were 
chosen as a committee to proceed to the Parson's house to 
order the Union ensign down. Mrs. More (the Parson's daugh- 
ter) answered the summons. In answer to her inquir}'" as to 
what was their errand, one said, rudely : 

" We have come to take down that d — d rag you flaunt 
from your roof — the Stripes and Stars." 

Mrs. More stepped back a pace or two within the door, 
drew a revolver from her dress pocket, and leveling it, 
answered : 

" Come on, sirs, and take it down !" 

Tlie chivalrous Confederates were startled. 

" Yes, come on !" she said, as she advanced toward them. 

They cleared the piazza, and stood at bay on the walk. 



262 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" We'll go and get more men, and then d — d if it don't 
come down !" 

" Yes, go and get more men — you are not men !" said tlie 
heroic woman, contemptuously, as the two backed from the 
place and disappeared. 

Speaking of those days in June and July, the Parson said : 

" Then it was that, wanting in transportation, wanting in rolling 
stock, wanting in locomotives, they had to lie ovei* by regiments in our 
town, and then they commenced to ride Union men upon rails. I have 
seen that done in the streets, and have seen them break into the stores 
and empty their contents ; and coming before my own house with ropes 
in their hands, they would groan out, ' Let us give old Brownlow a 

turn, the d d old scoundrel ; come out, and we Avill hang you to 

the first limb.' These threats toward me were repeated every day and 
every week, until finally they crushed my paper, destroyed my ofiice, 
appropriated the building to a smith's shop to repair the locks and bar- 
rels of old muskets that Floyd had stolen from the Federal Government, 
They finally enacted a law in the Legislature of Tennessee authorizing 
an armed force to take all the arms, pistols, guns, dirks, swords and 
everything of the sort from all the Union men, and they paid a visit to 
every Union house in the State. They visited mine three times in suc- 
cession, upon that business, and they got there a couple of guns and 
one pistol. Being an editor and preacher, I was not largely supplied. 
I had, however, a small supply concealed under my clothes ! Finally, 
after depriving us of all our arms throughout the State, and after taking 
all the fine horses of the Union men everywhere, without fee or reward, 
for cavalry horses, and seizing upon the fat liogs, corn, fodder, and 
sheep, going into houses and pulling the beds off the bedsteads in day- 
time, seizing upon all the blankets they could find for the army ; after 
breaking open chests, bureaus, drawers, and everything of that sort — in 
which they were countenanced and tolerated by the authorities, civil 
and militaiy — our people rose up in rebellion, unarmed as they were, 
and by accident," 

After that itprising, which did not occur until November 
3d — when the Unionists secretly burned the bridges of the 
railways leading from the South and from Virginia into East- 
ern Tennessee — the Unionists were not suffered to escape with 
" civil indignities ;" but were seized, shot, imprisoned, liung 
by scores ; were driven to the mountains where they suffered 
from all the rigors of the winter ; were rendered exiles and 



OF THE WAR. 263 

liunted men, whom to slioot was a duty. Of that period of 
suffering the Parson chiefly spoke in his various addresses to 
the jjeople of the North. His story seemed incredible— it was 
so horrible in some of its details ; yet, its authenticity none 
dared dispute. Persons, names, dates, places, circumstances, 
all were given, that not a shadow of doubt might remain. 
We shall reproduce so much of his narrative as will serve to 
give the reader a correct apprehension of the State of affah'S 
in Tennessee during the fall and winter of 1861-62 : 

THE SOUTH GUILTY OF THE WAR. 

" The demagogues," he said, " and the leaders of the South, 
are to blame for having brought about this state of things, rnd 
not the people of the North. AVe have intended down South, 
for thirt}'- years, to break up this Government. It has been 
our settled purpose and our sole aim down South to destroy 
the Union and break up the Government. We have had the 
Presidency in the South twice to your once, and five of our 
men were re-elected to the Presidency, filling a period of forty 
3"ears. In addition to that, we had divers men elected for one 
term, and no man at the North ever was permitted to serve any 
but the one term ; and, in addition to having elected our men 
twice to your once, and occupied the chair twice as long as 
you ever did, we seized upon and appropriated two or three 
miscreants from the North that we elected to the Presidency, 
and ploughed with them as our heifers. We asked of j'ou, 
and obtained at your hands, a Fugitive Slave law. You voted 
for and helped us to enact and to establish it. We asked of 
you and obtained the repeal of the Missouri Compromise line, 
which never ought to have been repealed. I fought it to the 
bitter end, and denounced it and all concerned in repealing it, 
and I repeat it here again to-night. We asked and obtained 
the admission of Texas into the Union, that we might have 
slave territory enough to form some four or five more great 
States, and you granted it. You have granted us from first 
to last all we have asked, all we have desired ; and hence I 



264 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

repeat, that tliis thing of secession, this wicked attempt to dis- 
solve the Union, has been brought about without the shadow 
of a cause. It is the work of the worst men that ever God per- 
mitted to hve on the face of this earth. It is the work of a 
set of men down South who, in winding up this revolution, if 
our Administration and Government shall fail to hang them 
as high as Haman — hang every one of them — we will make 
an utter failure." 

IN PEISON. 

After detailing his course through the summer, and relating 
the incidents of the burning of bridges in November, he told 
of his seizure upon suspicion of having been instrumental in 
the incendiarism, saying : 

" They wanted a pretext to seize me ; and upon the 6th day 
of December they marched me off to jail — a miserable, un- 
comfortable, damp, desperate jail — where I found, when ush- 
ered into it, about one hundred and fifty Union men. There 
was not, in the whole jail, a chair, bench, stool or table, or any 
piece of furniture, except a dirty old wooden bucket and a 
pair of tin dippers to drink with. I found some of the first 
and best men of the whole country there. I knew them all, 
and they knew me, as I had been among them for thirty years. 
They rallied round me, some smiling and glad to see me, as I 
could give them the news that had been kept from them. 
Others took me by the hand, and were utterly speechless, and, 
with bitter, burning tears running down their cheeks, they said 
that they never thought that they would come to that at last, 
looking through the bars of a grate. Speaking first to one 
and then to another, I bade them be of good cheer and take 
courage. Addressing them, I said, ' Is it for stealing you are 
here ? No. Is it for counterfeiting ? No. Is it for man- 
slaughter ? No. You are here, boys, because you adhere to 
the flag and the Constitution of our country. I am here with 
you for no other offense but that ; and, as God is my judge, 
boys, I look xipon this 6th day of December as the proudest 



OF THE WAPw. 265 

day of my life. And here I intend to stay until I die of old 
age or until they hang me. I will never renounce my 
principles.' " 

THE HANGMEN AT WORK. 

He "was soon made to realize that death, as well as imprison- 
ment, was the Unionist's lot. He said : " In the jail-yard, 
which was in full view from our window, we almost daily 
beheld a tragedy. There would drive up a horse and cart, 
with an ugly, rough, flat-topped coffin upon it, surrounded by 
fifteen to forty men, v/ho, with bristling bayonets, as a guard, 
would march in through the gate into the jail-yard, with 
stead}--, military tread. We trembled in our boots, for they 
never notiiiad us who was to be hanged. They came some- 
times with two coffins, one on each cart, and they took two 
men at a time and marched them out. A poor old man of 
sixty-five and his son of twenty-five, were marched out at one 
time and hanged on the same gallows. They made that poor 
old man, who was a Methodist class-leader, sit by and see his 
son bang until he was dead, and then they called him a d — d 
Lincolnite Union shrieker, and said, ' Come on, it is your turn 
next.' He sunk, bat they propped him up and led him to the 
halter, and swung both off on the same gallows. They came, 
after that, for another man, and took J. C. Haum out of jail — 
a young man of fine sense, good address, and of excellent 
character — a tall spare-made man, leaving a wife at home with 
four or five helpless children. They were kind enough to 
notify him an hour before the hanging that he was to hang. 
Haum at once made an application for a Methodist preacher, 
a Union man, to come and pray for him. They denied him 
the privilege ; but, they had near the gallows an unprincipled 
drunken chaplain of their own army, who got up aud under- 
took to ajjologize for Haum. He said : ' This poor, unfortunate 
man, who is about to pay the debt of nature, regrets the course 
he took ; he said he was misled by the Union paper.' Haum 
rose up, and with a clear, stentorian voice, said: 'Fellow- 
X 31 



266 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

citizens : tbere is not a word of trutli in that statement. I 
liave authorized nobody to make such a statement. What I 
liave said and done, I have done and said with my ejes open ; 
and, if it were to be done over, I would do it again. I am 
ready to liarig, and you can execute your purpose.' He died 
like a man ; he died like a Union man ; like an East Tennes- 
sean ought to die ! As God is my judge," added the Parson, 
solemnly and earnestly, " I would sooner be Baum in the 
grave to-day, than any one of the scoundrels engaged in his 
murder." 



THE TWO LOYAL CLERGYMEN. 

The case of two venerable Baptist Clergymen, Mr. Pope and 
Mr. Gate, was a painfnl one, from their age and circumstances 
— both of which should have shielded them from the barbarous 
treatment they received. Brownlow, referring to this case, 
said : " Mr. Gate was very low indeed, prostrated from the 
fever, and unable to eat the miserable food sent there by the 
corrupt jailor and deputy marslial — a man whom I had de- 
nounced in my paper as guilty of forgery time and time again 
— a suitable representative of the thieves and scoundrels that 
head this rebellion in the South. The only favor extended to^ 
me was to allow my family to send me three meals a day by 
my son, who brought the provisions in a basket. I requested 
iny wife to send also enough for the two old clergymen. One 
of them was put in jail for offering prayers for the President 
of the United States, and the other was confined for throwing 
up his hat and cheering the Stars and Stripes as tliey passed 
his house, borne by a company of Union volunteers. When 
the basket of provisions came in in the morning, they ex- 
amined it at the door, would look between the pie and the 
bread to see if any billet or paper was concealed there, com- 
municating treason from any outside Unionist to the ' old 
scoundrel' they had in jail; and when the basket went out 
again, the same ceremony was repeated, to discover whether I 
had slipped any paper in, in any way." 



OF THE WAR. 267 

A HARROWING INCIDENT. 

"The old man, Gate," said Brownlow, "had three sons in 
that jail. One of them, James Madison Gate, a most exem- 
plary and worthy member of the Baptist church, was there for 
having; committed no other crime than that of refusiner to 
volunteer. He lay stretched at length upon the floor, with 
one thickness of a piece of carpet under him, and an old over- 
coat doubled up for a pillow, in the agonies of death. His 
wife came to visit him, bringing her youngest child, which 
was but a babe. They were refused admittance. I put my 
head out of the jail window, and entreated them, for God's 
sake, to let the poor woman come in, as her husband was 
dying. The jailer at last consented that she might see him for 
the limited time of fifteen minutes. As she came in, and 
looked upon her husband's wan and emaciated face, and saw 
how rapidly he was sinking, she gave evident signs of faint- 
ing, and would have fallen to the floor with the babe in her 
arms, had I not rushed up to her and seized the babe. Then 
she sunk down upon the breast of her dying husband, finable 
to speak. I sat by and held the babe until the fifteen minutes 
had expired, when the officer came in, and, in an insulting and 
peremptory manner, notified her that the interview was to 
close. I hope I may never see such a scene again ; and yet, 
such cases were common all over East Tennessee.'^ 



A CASE OF CLEMENCY. 

Among others condemned to death by the drumhead court- 
martial which disposed of the Union prisoners, was that of a 
man named Hessing Self, who was informed of his fate a few 
hours before the time fixed for his execution. Brownlow thus 
related the incidents which followed : "His daughter, who had 
come down to administer to his comfort and consolation — a 
most estimable girl, about twenty-one years of age — Elizabeth 
Self, a tall, spare-made girl, modest, handsomely attired, 
begged leave to enter the jail to see her father. They permit- 



268 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

ted her, contrary to their usual custom and savage barbarity, 
to go in. They had him in a small iron cage, a terrible affair ; 
they opened a little door, and the jailor admitted her. A 
parcel of us went to witness the scene. As she entered the 
cage where her father was, she clasped him around the neck, 
and he embraced her also, throwing his arms across her 
shoulders. They sobbed and cried ; shed their tears and made 
their moans. I stood by, and I never beheld such a sight, and 
I hope I may never see the like again. When they had 
parted, wringing each other by the hand, as she came out of 
the cage, stammering and trying to utter something intelli- 
gible, she lisped my name. She knew my face, and I could 
understand as much as that she desired me to write a dispatch 
to Jefferson Davis, and sign her name, begging him to pardon 
her father. I worded it about thus : 

" ' Hon. Jefferson Davis — My father, Hessing Self, is 
sentenced to be hanged at four o'clock to-day. I am living at 
home, and my mother is dead. My father is my earthly all ; 
upon him my hopes are centered ; and, friend, I pray you to 
pardon him. Eespectfully, ' Elizabeth Self.' 

" Jefferson, Davis, who had a better heart than the rest of 
his coadjutors, immediately responded by commuting his sen- 
tence to imprisonment" 

sickness and suffering. 

Many other incidents were mentioned of thai Life in Prison, 
which all served to prove the malignant and thoroughly heart- 
less character of the Confederate authorities. Of the winter, 
as it passed to the living inmates, he said : " They tightened 
up on those of us who held out. Many of our company be- 
came sick. We had to lie upon that miserable, cold, naked 
floor, with not room enough for us all to lie down at the same 
time — and you may think what it must have been in December 
and January — '' spelling" each other, one lying down awhile 
on the floor and then another taking his place so made warm. 
That was the way we managed, until many became sick unto 



OF THE WAE. 269 

death. A number of the prisoners died of pneumonia and 
typhoid fever, and other diseases contracted by exposure 
there." 



A MOST REVOLT! Is G AFFAIR. 

A large jail in Greenfield — the place where Andrew Johnson 
resided — was, also, filled with Unionists, who were treated 
with even greater atrocity than those in the Knoxville prison. 
Brownlow mentioned the case of two men, named Fry and 
Nashy. Fry had a wife and six children. " A fellow from 
Union,^' the Parson stated, " named Leadbeater, the bloodiest 
and the most ultra man, the vilest wretch, the most unmiti- 
gated scoundrel that ever made a track in East Tennessee — 
Colonel Daniel Leadbeater, late of the United States Army, 
but now an officer in the Secession Army — took these two 
men, tied them with his own hands upon one limb, immedi- 
ately ovei^ the railroad track in the town of Greenville and 
ordered them to hang four days and nights^ and also ordered 
all the engineers and conductors to go by that spot slowly, in 
order to give passengers an opportunity to kick the rigid bodies 
and strike them with switches. And they did it ! I pledge 
3^ou my honor that, from the front platforms they made a busi- 
ness of kicking the dead bodies as they pq^ssed by ; and the women 
(I will not say the ladies, for down South we make a distinc- 
tion between ladies and women) — the women, the wives and 
daughters of men in high position, waved their white handker- 
chiefs in triumph, through the windows of the car, at the sight 
of the two dead bodies hanging there !" 

A statement of this character will excite, in the reader's 
mind, feelings of disgust and horror. No wonder every 
escaped Unionist had but one wish in his heart — to wreak a 
bloody revenge on those merciless miscreants, who seemed to 
have taken to torture by instinct. Men who are familiar with, 
and practice torture upon, slaves, only have to change the 
objects of their malice, to become persecutors of their own 
fellow-citizens. Strange that the Parson saw and experienced 
x2 



270 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

those simple results of a Slave education, and yet failed to 
avscribe the true cause to the unheard-of atrocity meted out to 
the Unionists ! 

BARBARITIES GENERALLY PRACTICED. 

" Seven miles out of Knoxville," said Brownlow, " they 
caught up Union men, tied them upon logs, upon blocks six 
or ten inches from the ground, put men upon their breasts, 
tying their hands and feet under the log, stripped their backs 
entirely bare, and then, with switches, cut their backs literally 
to pieces, the blood running down at every stroke. They came 
into court when it was in session, and when the case was 
stated, the judge replied : ' These are revolutionary times, and 
there is no remedy for anything of the kind.' He added, 
further : 

" This is the spirit of secession all over the South ; it is the 
spirit which actuates the instruments of the Confederacy every- 
where. It is the spirit of murder — the very spirit of hell 
itself Can you," he cried in an impassioned voice — " can you, 
any of you, excuse or apologize for such demons ? Oh, look 
upon the picture before you ! Hanging is even now going on 
all over East Tennessee. They shoot them down in the fields, 
in the streets, arresting , hundreds, and shooting fifty or sixty 
in one instance, after they had surrendered and were under 
arrest They marched between three and four hundred 
through the streets, some of them barefooted, and their feet 
bleeding, taking them to the depot and shipping them to At- 
lanta, Georgia, to work upon their fortifications. These men, 
denied wat/3r, would lift out of the mud-puddles in the street 
with their hands, after a rain, what they could to quench their 
thirst They whip them, and, as strange as it may seem to 
you., in the counties of Campbell and Anderson they actually 
lacerate ivith switches the hodies of females, wives and daughters 
of Union men — clever, respectable women. They show no quar- 
ter to male or female ; they rob their houses, and they throw 
them into prison. Our jails are full ; we have complained 



OF THE WAE. 271 

and thouglit hard that oiir Government has not come to our 
relief, for a more loyal, a more devoted people to the Stars 
and Stripes never lived than the Union people of Tennessee. 
"With tears in their eyes they begged me, upon leaving East 
Tennessee, to see the President, to see the army officers, to 
have relief sent immediately to them, and bring them out 
of jail." 

After presenting this picture of wretchedness and wo, no 
wonder the speaker exclaimed : 

" In God's name I call upon President Lincoln, and upon his Cabinet 
and army officers, to say how long they will suffer a loyal people, true 
to the Union and to the Government of their fathers, to suffer in this 
way ! The Union men of East Tennessee are largely in the majority — 
say three to one — but they have no arms ; they are in the jails of the 
country ; they are working on rebel fortifications like slaves under the 
lash, and no Federal force has ever yet been marched into that oppress- 
ed and down-trodden country. Let the Government, if it has any re- 
gard for obligations, redeem that country at once, and liberate these 
people, no matter at what cost of blood or treasure." 

DEBASED CHAEACTER OF SOUTHEEISr MIISTISTEES. 

Brownlow delivered in New York (May 19th) an address 
on the irreligious character of the rebellion. He then made 
public facts and incidents which proved how thoroughly the 
ministry of the South was demoralized by the spirit of seces- 
sion. Some of his statements we may repeat. 

Rev. Dr. Martin, a New School Presbyterian minister of 
Knoxville, was educated and graduated at the Union Theo- 
logical Seminary of New York city. How he was abased by 
acquiescence in the revolution, the Parson stated : 

" Mr. Maynard, our representative in Congress, is an elder 
in the New School Presbyterian Church, a scholar, and a gen- 
tleman. He had no sooner left in disguise to make his way 
through to take his seat in Congress, than the Eev. Joseph F. 
Martin made a set speech, going through the formalities of 
taking a text — preached an outrageous sermon, and prayed 
an outrageous prayer, * that his wicked and unhallowed tracks 
might never again be seen or known in Knoxville.' The 



272 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

The mortified wife of Mr. Maynard, (who is from tlie neigh- 
borhood of New York city,) who is a lady, and so regarded, 
in every sense of the word, an intelligent, charitable, Christian 
lady, shedding tears on that occasion, rose up, left the house 
and journeyed home ; and, although she was driven out but a 
few weeks ago, with my wife and children, she had, to her 
honor and credit, never disgraced her name by visiting his vile 
sanctuary any more. Feeling that he had behaved in a con- 
temptible manner, he made her a visit and apologized, saying, 
' I didn't want to do it, but my elders made me do it, and I 
had to do it, or lose my salary and my place.' "What do you 
think of a ' laborer in the vineyard' like that ?" 

Of the pastor of another Knoxville church, he related : 
" The pastor of the Old School Church in Knoxville, a man 
of education and fair talent, and until secession broke out, I 
thought him a gentleman and a Christian. A short time be- 
fore I left, he had a special occasion to preach upon the sub- 
ject of secession, and attracted a large crowd. He made the 
bold and open declaration that Jesus Christ was a Southerner, 
born on Southern soil. He did it in good faith ; he did it in 
sincerity, however, not in truth. He said, ' Jesus Christ was 
a Southerner, born on Southern soil, and so were his disciples 
and apostles, all except Judas, and he was a Northern man.' 
Holding up a Bible, he said — I presume he was sober, but I 
would not guarantee it — ' I would sooner, my brethren, an- 
nounce to you a text for discussion from the pulpit out of a 
Bible or a Testament that I knew liad been printed in hell, 
than out of a Bible or a Testament that was printed North of 
Mason and Dixon's line.' That was a part of his Gospel ser- 
mon on the Lord's day." 

The Methodist ministry (Brownlow belonged to that per- 
suasion) he characterized thus : 

" The Methodist preachers in the South were entitled to more con- 
sideration, for there was more imanimity among them. They were 
nearly all, without any exception, rascals." 

He thus specified one case : " Fountain B. Fitch was an old 
presiding elder of the Conference, a man who had been in 



OF THE WAK. 273 

eveiy General Conference for tliirt}" years. He went to Eu- 
rope with Bishop Soule, and had one or two sons in the rebel 
arraj. He was a chaplain of a Nashville regiment, and made 
it a practice to get drunk, carrying a bottle with him ; he 
drank to excess and swore profanely, but preached every Sun- 
day faithfully to the soldiers. In his discourses he told them 
that the cause in which they were engaged — -and I only give 
him as a specimen of all denominations — fighting for the inde- 
pendence of the South, fighting to keep back the abolition 
hordes of the North, and to repulse the hordes of Lincoln, was 
so good and so holy a cause, that if they died in this cause 
they would be saved in heaA'-en, even without grace." 

But there was one loyal man " of the cloth" — that of the 
Episcopal minister in Knoxville, whose case the Parson thus 
referred to : 

" Rev. Thomas "W. Hugh was a slaveholder, and a man of property. 
His Bishop, some months ago, furnished him with a new prayer, which 
did not require him to pray for the President of the United States, but 
substituted Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Government. Mr. 
Hugh, joromptly bnt frankly, and like a man, said : ' I cannot abandon 
my Prayer-Book and regular form. I do not believe in the Confed- 
eracy ; I do not believe in Jefferson Davis.' They turned him out and 
l^rocured another pliant tool and cat's-paw, who was willing to pray for 
anybody for his victuals, his wine, and his jjarsonage." 

GENERAL ZOLLICOFFER. 

For Zollicoffer, Brownlow entertained a sincere respect. 
Both were Whigs—had campaigned it politically together and 
were, personally, friends. The rebel General did not forget 
old relation in his new ones — which latter we have good rea- 
son to susj)ect were alike painful and distasteful to him. 
Brownlow said : 

"After my types and printing-press had been destroyed, 
and my office turned into a blacksmith-shop, to repair and put 
percussion locks on the old muskets Floyd stole, word was 
given to General Zollicoffer that a regiment of Texans, who 
were encamped a few miles out of town, had fixed up their 
85 



274 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

plans to pull Brownlow's house down that night. Zollicoffer 
immediately gave an order that no soldier should leave camp 
that night, and sent a company of soldiers to guard m}^ house, 
giving the ladies information of his intention. This was 
heralded all through the Southern Confederacy as a piece of 
unheard-of clemency. But I think he did nothing more than 
his duty. And now that Zollicoffer is dead, I must do him the 
credit to say that I knew him for more than twenty-five 
years ; that I have battled with him ; that he was an honest 
man, who never wronged another out of a cent ; that he 
never told a lie ; that he was in all respects an honorable 
man, and as brave a soldier as ever died in battle, and that 
the only mean thing he ever did, was fighting for the South- 
ern Confederacy." 

Zollicoffer was killed at the battle of Wild Cat, Kentucky, 
October 21st, by Colonel Fry. His death was sincerely regret- 
ted by the Unionists of Tennessee. He had been cajoled into 
the Confederate service ; his hand, not his heart, seemed to 
have been the sinner. 

THE BRID GE' BURNING. 

The burning of bridges in East Tennessee was an act of the 
Unionists, to prevent the Confederates from throwing reen- 
forcements into that section, while Garland pushed down 
through Cumberland Gap to protect the Unionists in their 
pre-arranged uprising. The story of the burning was never 
known until the Parson revealed it on his arrival in Nashville, 
late in February (1861.) The substance of his statements, at 
that time, was thus reported by the Louisville Journal: 

" It appears that Chaplin Carter and Captain Fry, of one of 
the Tennessee regiments, in the latter part of October, made 
their way in disguise and over hidden paths to the house of a 
prominent loyalist, within eight miles of Knoxville. Here 
they convened about one hundred trustworthy and devoted 
men, to whom they represented that a Federal division was 
about forcing its way into the Eastern district, and that, in 



OF THE WAR. 275 

order to insure the success of the contemplated expedition, and 
prevent the reenforcement of the Confederate forces then 
guarding the Gap from either the West or East, they were 
authorized by the Federal military authorities to prepare and 
execute a plan for the destruction of the principal bridges on 
the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad. 

" Most of those present at once signified their willingness to 
co-operate with them, and it was accordingly arranged that 
parties of fifteen to twenty-five, armed and provided with the 
necessary combustibles, should proceed as secretly as possible 
to the vicinity of the bridges selected for destruction. Captain 
¥vj, assuming the character of a Confederate contractor, pro- 
fessedly engaged in the purchase of hogs, under the name of 
Colonel Walker, traveled from point to point, personally 
superintending the preparations. 

" So well were the plans laid, and so successfully carried 
out, that, although the most westerly of the doomed bridges 
was no less than one hundred and seventy -Jive miles from the 
most easterly, the guards at all of them were overpowered, and 
the structures fired within the same hour of the same night, 
that is, between the hours of eleven and twelve of the night 
of the 10th of November. The bridges were readily set in 
flames by means of ropes dipped in turpentine and stretched 
from end to end. Captain Fry was himself present at the 
burning of the Lick Creek bridge. 

" The guards at that point were not only overcome, dis- 
armed and tied, but also made to swear allegiance to the 
United States, upon a Bible brought along for the purpose. 
Captain Fry started for Southern Kentucky immediately after 
the burning, to return, as the conspirators all believed, in a 
few days, with a Federal army. His brother was afterward 
arrested, and hung by the rebels." 

It is one of the melancholy episodes of the war that Garland 
and Schoepf were stayed in their advance upon East Tennessee. 
The way was open ; and the uprising of the Unionists, with 
the help of the Federal forces, certainly would have given that 
section up to the Union. The " circumlocution ofiice" had 



276 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

another way of doing tlie thing — of gathering a tremendous 
force, in the course of time — to march down upon Nashville, 
then to whip the rebels out of West Tennessee ; then to ad- 
vance into East Tennessee. The poor Unionists pined in 
dungeons through the weary ten months which followed before 
their deliverance came, by the advance of Mitchell from the 
South and of Morgan from Cumberland Gap. East Tennessee 
should have been in the Union, in November, 1861 ; and, 
doubtless would have been, if counter orders had not arrested 
a simple, straight-forward, discreet campaign. This, we believe, 
is now the opinion of those best qualified to sit in judgment 
on events in Kentucky and Tennessea 



XXATI 



THE CAMPAIGN IN MISSOURI. THE FIRST 
DISASTER. 

The final defection of General Price and Governor Jackson 
(June 12th) was followed by their calling out all the troops 
available to " fight the hireling Dutch," as the United States 
vokinteers were then called. They gathered in strong force at 
Boonsville, whither General Lyon proceeded with all the avail- 
able force at his disposition — consisting chiefly of the First, 
Third, and Fourth Missouri regiments volunteers, with several 
companies of regulars, two batteries of artiller}^, and several 
companies of Home Guards. The battle of Boonsville followed, 
June 17th, in which Price's forces were routed, and his camp 
equipage, stores, etc., captured. The Federal loss was two 
killed and nine wounded. General Price was not in the fight, 
having gone home the day previous, ill. 



OF THE WAR. 277 

The Second Missouri regiment stopped at Jefferson City, 
where Colonel Boernstein assumed command. He issued his 
proclamation (June 17th,) announcing the flight of the Gover- 
nor and other State functionaries, and proclaiming his purpose 
to co-operate with the civil and judicial authorities to preserve 
law and order. 

On the 18th, General Lyon issued his proclamation to the 
people of Missouri, in which he set forth the triie condition of 
matters as between the absconding Governor, with his treason- 
able coadjutors, and the General Government. He assured 
peace and safety to all who did not bear arms against the 
Government, and requested all who had been deceived into a 
co-operation with the treason of their late Executive, to lay 
down their arms, and return to their homes. He warned those 
in arms, however, against hoping for clemency, if they per- 
sisted in hostility against their country. 

On the 18th, the Secessionists from "Warsaw and vicinity 
attacked a body of Home Guards at Camp Cole, and dispersed 
them — the Guards losing twenty-three killed, twenty wounded, 
and thirty prisoners. The attacking force was comprised 
largely of Price's men, who had retired from Boonsville upon 
Lyon's approach. 

Lyon immediately proceeded to dispose his forces so as to 
command the best points of occupation in the State. Siegel 
was pushed out toward Springfield, where he arrived June 
23d. Learning that Jackson was coming down from the 
North with the remnant of his forces, through Cedar County, 
Siegel advanced to Mount Yoinion to intercept his retreat. At 
Mount Vernon he ascertained that Price was at Neosho, and 
immediately resolved to use him up before striking for Jack- 
son. With that object in view, he moved (June 30th) on to 
Neosho ; but Price had retreated before him. 

The rebels effected a combination of their forces, under Gen- 
erals Parsons and Eains, at Dry Fork Creek, eight miles north 
of Carthage. By orders of Brigadier-General Sweeny — who 
had then arrived at Springfield and assumed command of the 
Federal forces operating in South-western Missouri — Siegel, 
Y 



278 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

on tlie morning of July 5th, pushed out to meet the enemy. 
His force consisted of eight companies of his own (Third) regi- 
ment, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Hassendeubel, 
Missouri volunteers ; seven companies of the Fifth regiment, 
Colonel Salomon ; and eight field pieces under command of 
Major Backof The enemy's force comprised State troops and 
Arkansas volunteers to the number of fifty-five hundred — 
nearly one half mounted — and a battery of five guns. An 
account of the battle given by one who was present, read : 

" Our command was about one thousand two hundred 
strong, including a part of Colonel Salomon's regiment. We 
met the enemy in camp, in an open prairie, three miles be- 
yond D]y Fork. We could not discover many infantry, but 
numbers of cavalry. Approaching within eight hundred 
yards, we took our position. The artillery was placed in 
front ; we had on our left two six-pounders ; in our center, 
two six-pounders and two twelve-pounders ; and two six- 
pounders on our right. The enemy, who occupied the. high- 
est ground in the prairie, had in position one six-pounder on 
the right and left, and in his center one twelve and two six- 
pounders. The fight commenced at half-past nine, when large 
bodies of infantry began to appear. The firing of the enemy 
was wretched. I have seen much artillery practice, but never 
saw such bad gunnery before. Their balls and shells went 
over us, and exploded in the open prairie. At eleven o'clock 
we had silenced their twelve-pounder and broken their center 
so much that disorder was apparent. After the first five shots 
the two secession flags which tiiey carried were not shown. 
They displayed the State flag, which we did not fire at. At 
about two o'clock the cavalry attempted to outflank us, on 
both right and left. As we had left our baggage trains three 
miles in the rear, not anticipating a serious engagement, it was 
necessary to fall back to prevent their capture. Colonel Siegel 
then ordered two six-pounders to the rear, and changed his 
front, two six pounders on the flanks, and the twelve and 
six-pounders in the rear, and commenced falling back in a 
steady and orderly manner, firing as we went. We proceeded, 



OF THE WAR. 279 

with hardly a word to be heard except the orders of the offi- 
cers, until we reached our baggage wagons, which liad ap- 
proached with the two companies left in reserve. They were 
formed (fifty wagons) into a solid square, and surrounded by 
the infantry and artillery, as before. The retreat was without 
serious casualty until we approached the Dry Fork Creek, 
where the road passes between bluffs on either side. The cav- 
alry of the enem}^, eight hundred strong, had concentrated on 
the opposite side of the creek, to cut us off. Colonel Siegel 
ordered two more cannon to the right and left oblique in front, 
and then by a concentrated cross-fire poured in upon them a 
brisk fire of canister and shrapnell shell. The confusion which 
ensued was terrific. Horses, both with and without riders, 
were galloping and neighing about the plain, and the riders in 
a perfect panic. We took here two or three prisoners, who, 
upon being questioned, said their force numbered about five 
thousand five hundred, and expressed their astonishment at 
the manner in which our troops behaved. 

" We proceeded, after capturing about thirty-five horses, to- 
ward Carthage. Just before entering the town, at about six 
o'clock, we brought up at Buck Creek, where three companies 
of infantry conspicuously posted themselves on the bank, 
while the rest, in two columns, made a small circuit around 
the town, which is situated near the creek. The artillery then 
poured in a well-directed fire upon the village. The horse- 
men started out in affright, and our soldiers brought them 
down with fearful effect. This was the heaviest charge of the 
whole day. No regular volley of musketry had been ordered 
until this time, and the Minie rifles carried their leaden mes- 
sengers through man and horse with damaging effect. The 
enemy must have lost fully two hundred men in this skirmish. 
Night was approaching as we passed through Carthpge. The 
remnant of the horsemen of the rebels were scattered in all 
directions ; their forces were coming up in our rear, and we 
concluded to make for the woods on the Mount Vernon road. 
We could not have captured the entire force without some 



280 INCIDEKTS AND ANECDOTES 

loss ; and as we were acting without orders, thouglit it pru- 
dent to withdraw with our advantage. 

" We took in all forty-five prisoners, some of them officers ; 
those taken at the Dry Creek at five o'clock reported about 
two hundred killed, and as the heaviest fighting was done 
afterwards, I estimate their loss at near five hundred. Our 
loss up to the time I left, was eight killed and missing, and 
forty-five wounded. As we brought off our wounded and 
dead, it is probable this may reduce the mortality list. 

" The rebels halted at Carthage, and hoisted the secession 
rag, when our artilleiy wheeled, and in a fevf minutes were in 
position, and firing. Shot and shell were whistling over their 
heads when the flag disappeared from our view. We then 
kept on our way to Mount Vernon, where we were ordered to 
rendezvous, expecting to meet General Sweeney." 

This masterly retreat covered Siegel with glory, and inspired 
the utmost confidence among the troops for their commanders. 
Almost all those engaged were Germans, wliile the officers 
were largely composed of Germans and Hungarians, of large 
experience on European battle-fields. 

That section of the State immediately became the seat of 
stirring movements. There the rebels gathered heavy forces 
from Missouri and Arkansas, preparatory to a strike for St. 
Louis and the Capital, Jefferson city. Lyon immediately as- 
sumed the field command — General Fremont having taken 
chief command of the Department of the West, July 9th. 
Sharp engagements of detached bodies occurred at Florida, 
where a rebel camp was broken up — at Forsj^the, which the 
Federal forces occupied — at Tilton, &c. ; while, on the 2d of 
August, Lyon fell upon Ben McCullough's advancing brigades, 
under command of General Rains and Colonel Mcintosh, at 
Dug Spring, nineteen miles South-west of Springfield. The 
rebels withdrew before his vigorous first assault, leaving forty 
dead and forty -four wounded upon the field. McCullough's 
design was to fall upon Springfield, and, by the very enormity 
of his numbers, to cut Lyon's command to pieces. Lyon slowly 



OF THE WAR. 281 

retreated from Dug Spring to SpringfielJ, resolved to liold it 
at all hazards — even if his long looked for, and earnestly called 
for, reenforcements from St. Louis did not arrive. If Spring- 
field was lost, McCullough and Price might march direct upon 
St. Louis. New Madrid was held by the enemy, from whence 
the recusant Governor hoped, by aid of the Confederate forces, 
then centering there, to fall upon Bird Point and Cairo. Au- 
gust oth, Jackson issued, from thence, his " Declaration of the 
Independence of Missouri" — a rather remarkable document 
considering that he had been deposed by the properly con- 
stituted Convention, July 31st, so that another Governor 
(Judge Hamilton R Gamble) had been chosen (August 1st) 
in Jackson's stead- The " Declaration" was the cry of revenge 
and mortification, and was put forth as a rejoinder to Gover- 
nor Gamble's Address and Proclamation to the People of Mis- 
souri, issued August 3d. 

Price moved his brigade, July 25th — then encamped on 
Cowskin Prairie, in McDonald County — toward Cassville, in 
Berry County, where it had been arranged the forces of 
McCullough, Pearce, McBride, and Price should concentrate, 
preparatory to the march on Springfield. The junction with 
McCullough and Pearce's commands was effected July 28th. 
The First Division, under McCullough, left Cassville August 
1st, taking the road to Springfield, followed by the Second 
Division, under Price and Pearce (of Arkansas.) The Third 
Division, under General Steen, started forward August 2d. It 
was the advance guards of this combined army which were en- 
countered by Lyon's forces at Dug Spring. The Federal 
General, discovering the enormous force of the enemy — as the 
several divisions came up and concentrated on Crane Creek — 
retired before them, and managed to give them a bloody greet- 
ing before they reached their destined goal. Accordingl}', his 
forces marched out, on the night of August 9th,* from Spring- 

* Lyon marched out on the 7th, for the night attack, but found 
morning so near at hand -wlien lie was prepared to move from Camp 
Hunter, (two miles from Springfield,) that he recalled the orders and 
returned to town, resolved to try it again, if circumstances seemed to 
warrant the hazardous enterprise. 

3G y2 



282 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

field, to encounter the rebels, then in fall force at Wilson's 
Creek, about ten miles south of the city. The Federal dispo- 
sition was to assail by two columns — one led by General 
Lyon in person, the other by Colonel Franz Siegel. 

Lyon's conduct, in ordering this advance, has been censured 
as rash, and, perhaps, as influenced somewhat by pique at the 
neglect shown him by the commanding Genei-al at St. Louis. 
Bat, it is certain that he acted from a high and noble sense of 
dat}^ One who was present at the time, wrote : " A consal- 
tation was held, and the question of evacuating Springfield 
seriously discussed. Looking at it in a military view, there 
was no doubt of the propriety, and even necessity of the step, 
and many of General Lyon's officers counseled such a move- 
ment. Some favored a retreat in the direction of Kansas, 
while others regarded Eolla as the more desirable. General 
Sweeney, however, pointed out the disastrous results which 
must ensue upon retreating without a battle— how the enemy 
wo aid be flushed and boastfal over such an easy conquest, 
the Union element crushed or estranged from us, and declared 
himself in favor of holding on to the last moment, and of 
giving the enemy battle as soon as he should approach within 
striking distance. This kind of counsel decided General Lyon 
to remain, save his own reputation and that of the officers 
under him, and not evacuate Springfield until compelled." 

The enemy, also, had resolved upon a night advance from 
Wilson's Creek camp, upon Springfield, hoping to surround 
it, and, by day-break, to close in upon Lyon so as to prevent 
his escape to liolla. Every disposition was made for the move- 
ment — the men were under arms, with orders to march, by 
four columns, at nine o'clock p.m. Price, for some unex- 
plained reason, having passed over the chief command to 
McCullough, the latter ordered the expedition to be given up, 
late at night, as the darkness was intense and a storm threat- 
ened. Lyon was not intimidated by the darkness— it rather 
was favorable, as it covered his passage and general disposition 
from the observation of pickets and scouts. 

Price, in his report of the conflict, said : " About six o'clock 



OF THE WAR. 283 

I received a messenger from General Eains, tliat the enemy 
were advancing in great force, from the direction of Spring- 
field, and were already within three hundred yards of the 
position where ho was encamped with the Second Division, 
consisting of about 1,200 men, under Colonel Crawford. A 
second messenger came immediately afterward from General 
Rains to announce that the enemy's main body was upon him, 
but that he would endeavor to hold him in check until he 
could receive reenforcements. General McCullough was witli 
me when these messengers came, and left at once for his own 
head-quarters, to make the necessary disposition of our forces. 

" I rode forward instantly toward General Rains' position, 
ordering Generals Slack, McBride, Clark, and Parsons to move 
their infantry, and artillery forward, I had ridden but a few 
hundred yards, when I came suddenly upon the main body of 
the enemy, commanded by General Lyon in person. The 
infxntry and artillery which I had ordered to follow me, came 
Ixip immediately, to the number of 2,036 men, and engaged the 
enemy. A severe and bloody conflict ensued ; my officers 
and men behaving with the greatest bravery, and, with the 
assistance of a portion of the Confederate forces, successfully 
holding the enemy in check. 

" Meanwhile, and almost simultaneously with the opening 
of the enemj'-'s batteries in this quarter, a heavy cannonading 
was opened on the rear of our position, v^rhere a large body of 
the enemy, under Colonel Siegel, had taken position, in close 
proximity to Colonel Churchill's regiment. Colonel Greer's 
Texan Rangers, and 679 mounted Missourians, under com- 
mand of Lieutenant-Colonels Major and Brown. 

" The action now became general, and was conducted with 
the greatest gallantry and vigor on both sides, for more than 
five hours, when the enemy retreated in great confusion, leav- 
ing their Commander-in-Chief, General Lyon, dead upon the 
battle-field, over five hundred killed and a great number 
wounded. The forces under my command have also a largo 
number of prisoners." 

This briefly alludes to the attack. Its circumstances were 



28-J: INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

SO full of interest that we may refer to it more at length. An 
account by an eye-witness, as well as the reports of Siegel and 
!Major Sturgis, offer all necessary information. The former 
said : " At eight o'clock in the evening, General Siegel, with 
his own and Colonel Salomon's command and six pieces of 
artillery, moved southward, marching until nearly two o'clock, 
and passing around the extreme camp of the enemy, where he 
halted, thirteen miles from town, and on the south side of the 
rehels, ready to move forward and begin the attack as soon as 
he should hear the roar of General Lyon's artillery. The main 
body of troops under General Lyon moved from the city about 
the same hour, halted a short time five miles west of the city, 
thence in a south-westerly direction four miles, where we halt- 
ed and slept till four A. M., Saturdaj^ the day of the battle. * * 

ii -» w (i j^ -yyr^g j^Q^y f^yg o'cloclc Thc cncmy's pickets 
were driven in ; the northern end of the valley in which they 
were encamped was visible, with its thousand of tents and its 
camp-fires ; the sky was cloudy, but not threatening, and the 
most terribly destructive of battles, compared with the number 
engaged, was at hand. Our army moved now toward the 
south-west, to leave the creek and a spring which empties in 
it on our left. Passing over a spur of high land which lies 
at the north end of the valley, they entered a valley and be- 
gan to ascend a hill, moderately covered with trees and under- 
wood, which was not, however, dense enough to be any im- 
pediment to the artillery. * * -^^ ^ i-:- % 

" Meanwhile the opposite hill had been stormed and taken 
by the gallant Missouri First, and Osterhaus's battalion and 
Totten's battery of six pieces had taken position on its summit 
and ]iorth side, and was belching forth its loud-mouthed thun- 
der much to the distraction of the opposing force, who had 
already been started upon a full retreat by the thick-raining 
bullets of Colonel Blair's boys. Lieutenant DuBois's battery, 
four pieces, had also opened on the eastern slope, firing upon 
a force which was retreating toward the south-east on a road 
leading up the hill, which juts into the south-western angle of 



OF THE WAR. 285 

the creek, and upon a battery placed near by to cover their 
retreat. ***** -:f * 

" Having driven a regiment of tbe enemy from one bill, the 
Missouri volunteers encountered in the valley bej'ond, another 
fresh and finely-equipped regiment of Louisianians, whom, 
after a bitter fight of forty-five minutes, they drove back and 
scattered, assisted by Captain Lothrop and his regular rifle 
recruits. Totten and Dubois were, meanwhile, firing upon the 
enemy forming in the south-west angle of the valley, and upon 
their batteries on the opposite hill. 

" The undaunted First, with ranks already thinned, again 
moved forward up the second hill, just on the brow of which 
they met still another fresh regiment, which poured a terrible 
volley of musketry into their diminished numbers. Never 
yielding an inch, they gradually crowded their opposers back- 
ward, still backward, losing many of their own men, killed 
and wounded, but covering the ground thick with the retreat- 
ing foe. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews, already wounded, still 
kept his position, urging the men onward by every argument 
in his power. Lieutenant Murphy, when they once halted, 
wavering, stepped several paces forward, waving his sword in 
the air, and called successfully upon his men to follow him. 
Every Captain and Lieutenant did his duty nobly, and when 
they were recalled and replaced by the fresh Iowa and Kansas 
troops, many were the faces covered with powder and dripping 
with blood. Captain Gratz, gallantly urging his men forward 
against tremendous odds, fell mortally wounded, and died soon 
after. Lieutenant Brown, calling upon his men to ' come for- 
ward/ fell with a severe scalp woinid. Captain Cole of the 
Missouri First had his lower jaw shattered by a bullet, but 
kept his place until the regiment was ordered to retire to give 
place to the First Iowa and some Kansas troops. 

" Just then General Green's Tennessee regiment of cavalry, 
bearing a secession flag, charged down the western slope near 
the rear upon a few companies of the Kansas Second who 
were guarding the ambulance wagons and wounded, and had 
nearly overpowered them, when one of Totten's howitzers was 



28G INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

turned in that direction, and a few rounds of canister effectu- 
ally dispersed tliem. The roar of the distant and near artil- 
lery now grew terrific. On all sides it was one continuous 
boom, while the music of the musket and rifle balls flying like 
an aggravated swarm of bees around one's ears was actually 
pleasant, compared with the tremendous whiz of a cannon ball 
or the bursting of a shell in close proximity to one's dignity. 

" Up to this time General Lyon had received two wounds, 
and had his fine dappled grey shot under him, which is suf- 
ficient evidence that he had sought no place of safety for him- 
self while he placed his men in danger. Indeed he had 
already unwisely exposed himself Seeing blood upon his hat, 
I inquired, " General, are you badly hurt ?" to which he 
replied, "I think not seriously." He had mounted another 
horse, and was as busily engaged as ever. 

" The Iowa First, under Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt, and 
part of the Kansas troops were ordered forward to take the 
place of the Missouris. They fought like tigers, stood firm as 
trees, and saved us from utter and overwhelming defeat. Gen- 
eral Lyon saw their indomitable perseverance and bravery, 
and with almost his last breath praised their behavior in glow- 
ing terms. Three companies of the lowans were placed in 
ambush by Captain Granger, of the regulars. Lying down 
close to the brow of the hill, they waited for another attempt 
of the enemy to retake their position. On they came, in over- 
whelming numbers. Not a breath was heard among the 
lowas, till their enemies came within thirty-five or forty feet, 
when they poured the contents of their Minie muskets into the 
enemy, and routed them, though suffering terribly themselves 
at the same time. Two Kansas companies afterward did the 
same thing on the eastern slope, and repulsed a vigorous attack 
of the enemy. 

" Lyon now desired the men to prepare to make a bayonet 
charge immediately after delivering their next fire. The 
lowas at once offered to go, and asked for a leader. On came 
the enemy, No time could be lost to select a leader. " I will 
lead you,' exclaimed Lyon. " Come on, brave men." lie 



OF THE WAR. 287 

had about placed himself in the van of the lowas, while Gen- 
eral Sweeney took a similar position to lead on a' portion of 
the Kansas troop, when the enemy came only near enough to 
discharge their pieces, and retired before the destructive fire 
of our men. Before the galling fire from the enemy, the brave 
General Lyon fell. 

" The command now devolved upon Major Sturgis. There 
was no certainty that Siegel had been engaged in the fight at 
all, as our artilleiy had kept up such a constant roar that guns 
three miles distant were but little noticed. Under these cir- 
cumstances, Major Sturgis had about determined to cross his 
command through the valley (the recent northern camp of the 
enemy) eastward, and, if possible, make a junction with Siegel 
on or near the Fayetteville road. Before he had time to give 
the necessary orders, another attack from the enemy was an- 
nounced by the volleys of musketry which were heard on our 
right Major Sturgis directed his attention that way, and the 
enemy were again repulsed. 

" Captain Totten then reported his cannon ammunition nearly 
gone. This decided the course to be pursued, and Major 
Sturgis at once sent the ambulances toward the city, and 
Lietenant DuBois' battery back to the hill at the north end of 
the valle}'', to protect the retreat. Then, in good order, the 
remnant of the bravest body of soldiers in the United States 
commenced a retreat, even while they were victorious in 
battle." 

Siegel was experiencing the fortunes of a reverse on the 
East. He had advanced so rapidly as to surprise the enemy, 
and, by capturing his pickets, was upon them like a whirlwind. 
They flew before him as he pressed his way toward the 
Fayetteville road, which he reached, and a fine position was 
secured on a hill. Having heard the firing suddenly cease in 
the direction of Lyon's forces, he supposed the Federal attack, 
like his own, to have been successful ; and, that Lyon's troops 
were pursuing the enemy, he deemed conclusive from the 
large bodies of the rebels moving toward the South. He 
stated, in his report : " This was the state of affairs at half-past 



288 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

eight o'clock, a. m., when it was reported that Lyon's men 
were coming np the road. Lieutenant Albert, of the Third, 
and Colonel Salomon, of the Fifth, notified their regiments not 
to fire on troops coming in that direction, whilst I cautioned 
the artillery in the same manner. Our troops, at this moment, 
expected with anxiety the approach of ou,r friends, and were 
waving the flag raised as a signal to their comrades, when at 
once two batteries ojDcned their fire against us — one in front, 
on the Fayetteville road, and the other upon the hill upon 
which we had supposed Lyon's forces were in pursuit of the 
enemy, whilst a strong column of infantry — supposed to be 
the Iowa regiment — advanced from the Fayetteville road, and 
attacked our right. 

" It is impossible for me to describe the consternation and 
frightful confusion which was occasioned by this important 
event. The cry, ' They (Lyon's troops) are firing against us !' 
spread like wildfire through our ranks ; the artillerymen, 
ordered to fire, and directed by myself, could hardly be 
brought forward to serve their pieces ; the infantry would not 
load their arms until it was too late. The enemy arrived 
within ten paces of the muzzles of our cannon, killed the 
horses, turned the flanks of the infantry, and forced them to 
fly. The troops were throwing themselves into the bushes 
and by-roads, retreating as well as they could, followed and 
attacked incessantly by large bodies of Arkansas and Texas 
cavaliy. In this retreat we lost five cannon (of which three 
w^ere spiked,) and the colors of the Third — the color-bearer 
having been wounded and his substitute killed. The total 
loss of the two regiments, the artillery and the pioneers, in 
killed, wounded and missing, amounts to eight hundred and 
ninety-two men." 

Siegel stated, as the chief cause of the repulse, that fv^ur 
hundred men of the three months troops, (Colonel Salomon's 
regiment,) whose term of enlistment had expired, were unwill- 
ing to go into the fight, and stampeded at the first opportunity. 
Their defection and insubordination lost all at the critical 
moment 



OF THE WAR. 289 

The affair was, notwithstanding these reverses, a drawn bat- 
tle. The enemy, after their last repulse by Major Sturgis, re- 
tired in confusion and prepared to retreat, fearing an advance 
by our troops — as would have been the case had not the artil- 
lery ammunition have given out, as reported. The rebels set 
fire to and consumed a large train of their stores, munitions 
and camp equipment, fearing their capture by the Federals. 
This alone proves how nearly the battle was won on the right 
and front. Had Siegel appeared at that opportune moment 
the large army of the enemy (confessed to have been 23,000 
strong) would have been overwhelmed with defeat by 5,500 
Federal troops. 

The Federal forces, under Major Sturgis, fell back, in good 
order, toward Springfield — the enemy not pursuing — another 
proof of their own repulse. After the arrival at Springfield it 
was determined to fall back iipon Eolla, immediately, since it 
was evident the enemy would soon cut off retreat in that direc- 
tion. Siegel took command of the general disposition for the 
retreat. lie was called upon to exercise all his ingenuity to 
get out of the net now thrown around him by the strong col- 
umns of the rebels, who well knew every rood of soil in that 
section. Preparations were begun for the retreat on the night 
of the 14th. By day -break the Federal columns were on the 
march toward the Gasconade. A correspondent, on the even- 
ing of the 10th, wrote : " With a baggage train five miles long 
to protect, it will be singular indeed, if the enemy does not 
prove enterprising enough to cut off a portion of it, having 
such a heavy force of cavalry." But, the retreat was safely 
effected, and the vicinity of Eolla was reached Saturdaj'-, Au- 
gust 19th. There the three months men were disposed for 
disbandment, and the gallant Iowa First was sent forward im- 
mediately to St. Louis to be mustered out of sei-vice — their 
term having also expired. 

The ofl&cial reports of the Federal losses showed them to be 

as follows : killed, 223 ; wounded, 721 ; missing, 292. Of the 

latter 231 belonged to Siegel's brigade. Of the wounded 208 

were of the First Missouri, 181 of the First Kansas and 138 

37 z 



290 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

of the First Iowa volunteers — proving how well these regi- 
ments fought 

This disaster was followed by an inroad of the enemy, as 
Lyon foresaw, which soon gave them possession of that por- 
tion of the State. It cost much blood and treasure, and many 
months of hard campaigning to dislodge them. Had Lyon 
been reenforced all would have been well. Even two or three 
fresh regiments of infantry and one of cavalry would have fill- 
ed up the ranks of the retiring three months men, and have 
afforded forces enough to have kept the enemy at bay until 
Fremont could come on in force. The loss of Springfield in- 
flicted untold suffering upon the Unionists of that section. It 
was a disaster for which the country did not cease to hold Fre- 
mont responsible, although the General urged the strong plea 
that his men were totally unfit for the field from want of arms, 
transportation, &c. 

Price, immediately after the retreat, moved his entire forces 
into Springfield, from whence he issued the following procla- 
mation to the People of Missouri : 

" Fellow Citizens : The army under my command has been or- 
ganized under the Laws of the State for the protection of your homes 
and firesides, and for the maintenance of the rights, dignity, and honor 
of Missouri. It is kept in the field for these purposes alone, and to aid 
in accomplishing them our gallant Southern brethren have come into our 
State. 

" We have just achieved a glorious victory over the foe, and scattered 
far and wide the ajspointed army which the usurper at Washington 
has been more than six months gathering for your subjugation and en- 
slavement. This victory frees a large portion of the State from the pow- 
er of the invaders, and restores it to the protection of its army. It con- 
sequently becomes my duty to assure you that it is my firm determin- 
ation to protect every peaceable and law abiding citizen in the full enjoy- 
ment of all his rights, whatever may have been his sympathies in the 
present unhappy struggle, if he has not taken an active 2>art in the cruel 
warfare which has been waged against the good people of this State by 
the ruthless enemies whom we have just defeated. I therefore invite all 
good citizens to return to their homes and the practice of their ordinary 
avocation, with the full assurance that they, their families, their homes, 
and their property shall be carefully protected. 

" I at the same time warn all evil-disposed persons who may support 



OF THE WAR. 291 

the usurpations of any one claiming to be provisional or temporary Gov- 
ernor of Missouri, or who shall in any other way give aid or comfort to 
the enemy, that they will be held as enemies and treated accordingly. 
" (Signed,! STERLING PRICE, 

"Major General Commanding Missouri State Guard." 

This had the effect to throw into his ranks a large number 
of those people in the south-western portion of the State who 
awaited the result of this conflict before determining their 
allegiance. It also forced acquiescence from all settlers who 
did not flee with the Federal army ; but even that acquies- 
cence did not protect their farms from devastation by the 
hordes of veritable " cut-throats" of which the invading army 
was largely composed. It is certain that the army brought 
by McCullough into Missouri was composed almost exclu- 
sively of Texan Eangers — men as wild as Indians and as fe- 
rocious as hyenas. They never, in all their service in the 
Confederate ranks, were brought under subjugation to disci- 
pline. The " border rufi&ans" who also gathered around Price 
were but little better. It was of such elements that the 
armies of* Price, Van Dorn, McCullough and Eains were 
afterwards composed. 



XX"^II. 



INCIDENTS OF THE WILSONS CREEK DISASTER. 

The Iowa and Kansas troops were So full of levity on their 
marches that Lyon rather distrusted their steadiness and cour- 
age. He had occasion, happily, before his death, to learn to 
admire their heroic valor. It was in heading the charge of 
the lowans that he lost his life. 



292 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

When General Lyon fell lie was picked up by his body- 
servant and one of his guard, and carried lifeless toward the 
ambulances, in one of which his body was placed to be con- 
veyed to Spring^field. General Sweeney received a shot in his 
right leg, at the same fire, and limped back to the surgeon. 

Siegel, before his reverse, secured about sixty pi-isoners and 
a laro-e number of horses. These men he made useful at a 

o 

critical j tincture, by making them pull his only preserved can- 
non off the field, after all the horses were killed. 

Colonel Bates of the Iowa First, who had been confined for 
several days with a fever and diarrhoea, mounted his horse 
and attempted to go to the field of battle on the evening pre- 
ceding it, but was compelled to return to town much to his 
regret, after marching two or three miles with the column. 

Of the rebel loss nothing is known with certainty, though 
the terrific precision of our artillery rendered it apparent that 
dreadful havoc followed Captain Totten's balls and shells. 
A correspondent wrote : " Dr. Schenck who visited McCul- 
lough and Rains after the battle, while gathering our wounded, 
says their loss is much heavier than ours ; that while our dead 
were comparatively few, theirs were gathered in great heaps 
under the trees. He says that so many of their tents were 
destroyed by themselves, that not less than two-thirds of them 
would have to bivouac under trees and by camp-fires for the 
night." 

Of the doings of a Congressman, the same writer said : " I 
had not proceeded far on the eastern side of the creek when I 
met the son of the Honorable John S. Phelps, who had left 
town upon hearing the cannonading, with a few mounted 
Kansas troops, and not discerning the exact position of the 
two armies, had busied himself taking prisoners on the Fay- 
etteville road and west of it. When I met him he had captured 
half a dozen, including a negro belonging to an ofl&cer in a Lou- 
isiana regiment" 

Another letter writer said of General Lyon's removal from 
the field, that his body was lifted from its ambulance to give 
place to the wounded — no one surmising that it was the body 



OF THE WAR. 293 

of their General. It was soon recovered, however, and buried 
near Springfield, whence it was taken by his friends, with the 
consent of the rebels, and conveyed, by way of St. Louis, to 
Connecticut for burial. 

General Lyon went into the battle in civilian's dress, except 
a military coat He wore a soft hat of an ashen hue, with long- 
fur and a very broad brim, turned up on three sides. He had 
been wearing it for a month ; there was only one like it in the 
command, and it would have individualized the wearer among 
50,000 men. His peculiar dress and personal appearance were 
well known through the enemy's camps. He received a new 
and elegant uniform just before the battle, but never wore it 
until his remains were arrayed in it, after his brave spirit 
had fled. 

The First Kansas regiment was commanded by Colonel G. 
W. Deitzler of Lawrence, whose horse was pierced with four 
balls early in the battle. Just as his horse fell the Colonel 
himself received a buck-shot in his thigh, inflicting an ugly 
wound ; but he tied a handkerchief around the bleeding lirnb, 
mounted a fresh steed, and continued to direct the regiment 
until he was unable to sit upright. 

Every company of this superb regiment was led by " repre- 
sentative men" — those who knew how to meet an enemy, from 
having already served in many a " border rufSan skrimmage." 
A singular instance of coolness was betrayed by company E, 
Captain Clayton of Leavenworth, which went into the fight 
seventy-three strong and came out with but twenty-six un- 
harmed men. The company having become separated from 
its regiment joined what was supposed to be the First Iowa. 
Captain Clayton was astounded to find, however, that he had, 
in truth, joined the enemy, for the regiment proved to be that 
led by the notorious scoundrel Colonel Clarkson, of border 
ruffian notoriety. The rebels, in their excitement, did not 
discover the identity of the Federal company. Captain Clay- 
ton, with great presence of mind, did nothing to apprise his 
own men of their danger ; but cried out : " Boys, you are 
crowding here ; oblique to the right" They obeyed, and were 
z2 



294 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

forty or fifty paces nway when the rebels began to be sus- 
picious, and one of their officers rode up and asked : " What 
troops are you ?" " First Kansas," Avas the Captain's prompt 
repl}^ " Who are you ?" " I am the adjutant of the Missouri 
Fifth." "Southern troops?" "Yes, sir," replied the adju- 
tant, putting spurs to his horse ; but in an instant Captain 
Clayton dragged him to the ground, and, with a cocked pistol 
at his breast, commanded him to give up his sword He 
obeyed ; but, by this time, the rebel regiment had discovered 
" the situation," and presented their guns. Captain Clayton 
still held the adjutant by the collar, directly in front of his 
little band, where he would be the most exposed if the rebels 
fired, and said : " Order your regiment not to fire." The ad- 
jutant not only refused to do this, but ordered his men to 
" open fire," regardless of him. He was instantly bayoneted 
and shot fatally, Eebel though he was, he was certainly a 
brave fellow. The Missourians fired upon Captain Clayton's 
little company, now only about forty strong, bringing down 
about a dozen men. The Kansas boys replied Avith one vol- 
ley, and then ran for their lives, soon reaching one of our regi- 
ments. But for the coolness of their commander they must 
have been captured or quite cut to pieces. 

In his i-eport. Major Sturgis said : " The great question in 
my mind was — where is Siegel ? If I could still hope for a 
vigorous attack by him on the enemy's right flank and rear, 
then we could go forward with some hope of success. If he 
had retreated, then there w^as nothing for us but retreat. In 
this perplexing condition of affairs, I summoned the principal 
officers for consultation. The great question with most of 
tliem was : — Is retreat possible ? The consultation was 
brought to a close by the advance of a heavy column of in- 
fantry, from the hill where Siegefs guns had before been 
heard. Thinking they were Siegel's men, a line was formed 
for an advance, with the hope of forming a junction with him. 
These troops wore a dress much resembling that of Siegel's 
brigade, and carried the American fiag. They were, therefore, 
permitted to move down the hill within easy range of DuBois' 



OF THE WAR. 295 

battery, until they reached the covered position at the foot of 
the ridge on which we rested, and vipon which we had before 
been so fiercely assailed. Suddenly a battery, planted on the 
hill in our front, began to pour upon us shrapnell and canister 
— a species of shot not before fired by the enemy. At this 
moment the enemy showed his true colors. At once there 
commenced along our entire lines the bloodiest and fiercest 
engagement of the day. Lieutenant DuBois' battery on our 
left, gallantly supported by Major Osterhaus' battalion, and 
the rallied fragments of the First Missouri, soon silenced the 
enemy's battery on the hill and repulsed the right wing of the 
rebel infantry. Captain Totten's battery in the centre, sup- 
ported by the lowas and the regnlars, was the main point of 
attack. Tlie enemy would frequently he seen loilhin twenty feet 
of Tottens guns, and the smoke of the opposing lines was often 
so confounded as to seem but one. Now, for the first time 
during ^he day, our entire line maintained its position with 
perfect firmness. Not the slightest disposition to give way 
was manifested at any point. Oaptain Steele's battalion, which 
was some yards in front of the line, together with the troops 
on the right and left, were in imminent danger of being over- 
whelmed by superior numbers — the contending parties being 
almost muzzle to muzzle. Captain Granger rushed to the rear, 
and brought up the supports of DuBois' battery, consisting of 
two or three companies of the First Minnesota, three companies 
of the First Kansas and two companies of the First Iowa, in 
quick time. These fell upon the enemy's right flank, and 
poured into it a murderous fire, killing or wounding nearly 
every man within sixty or seventy yards. From this moment 
a perfect route took place throughout the rebel front, while 
ours, on the right flank, continued to pour in a galling fire 
into their disorganized masses." 

This saved the day from proving an overwhelming disaster, 
and inspired the rebels with such a wholesome dread of the 
Unionists' ability to hold their own — that no pursuit vras 
made when the retreat was ordered. 

A dispatch to the Rebel authorities from Little Rook, 



296 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Arkansas, August 19tli, confessed tlie losses of the Southern 
army to have been — killed, 265 ; wounded, 800 ; missing, 38. 
This was much understated. Siegel alone captured over 
sixty prisoners, and safely secured them. The enemy's killed 
was stated by deserters and other informers to have been over 
five hundred. The dispatch said : " The enemy gave a com- 
plete surprise on the morning of the 10th, commencing on 
Churchill's regiment, whilst at breakfast. The regiment was 
thrown into confusion, but our men saddled their horses and 
fought bravely ; they had eight killed and one hundred and 
fifty-eight wounded. Totten's battery opened on McCullough's 
headquarters with six guns. The Little Eock Pulaski artillery 
soon returned their lire, keeping the enemy in check till our 
men had time to form. General Price led the Third, and part 
of the Fifth regiments to McCullough's aid, and saved the day, 
McCullough afterward said to Price, ' You have saved me and 
the battle.' Churchill's regiment, Gratiot's regiment, and the 
Texas regiment are badly cut to pieces." 



XXVIII. 



GENERAL LYON. 



In the death of General Lyon the IsTational cause experi- 
enced a great loss. His services already had endeared him to 
the people, and his future was looked forward to with confi- 
dence, by the army and by the public. The expression of 
regret freely uttered by the press was reechoed by the people. 
LTp to the date of his fall, no officer of the service had perished 
on the field whose loss was more sincerely regretted. 



OF THE WAR. 297 

Nathaniel Lyon was a native of Connecticut, and sprung 
from an old and honored family. He was born in the town 
of Ashford (now Eastford,) Windham County, in the year 1821. 
His grandfather, Ephraim Lyon, was an officer in the old 
French war, under the command of Sir "William Johnson, and 
also an officer in the War of the Eevolution. His grandfather 
on his mother's side, was Lieutenant Daniel Knowlton, a 
brother of Colonel Thomas Knowlton, who fell at White 
Plains, and was with him in that action, and at the battle of 
Bunker Hill. 

The two brothers, Tliomas and Daniel Knowlton, had both 
distinguished themselves in the war between the Colonists and 
English against the French, from 1755 to 1760. At the com- 
mencement of the Eevolution, we find these two brothers 
among the fij-st to take the field in defense of their country, 
and at Bunker Hill, both the historian and the artist have 
contributed to place the name of Colonel Knowlton among 
the most prominent of those whom a gratefal country will 
ever delight to honor. 

The oft recited deeds of daring and patriotism among his 
ancestors, thus falling upon the ears of young Lyon from a 
mother's lips, fired his youthful heart, and had much to do 
with his choice of the profession of arms. At an early age lie 
showed great mathematical talent and a power of combination 
and plan in the development of schemes, which, added to an 
iron will and an indomitable perseverance, thus early and 
unmistakably marked him as one "born to command." 

He entered the West Point Military Academy in 1837, gra- 
duating in 1841, with the rank of Second Lieutenant of the 
Second Infantry. His first service was in the Florida Ever- 
glades — then he was transferred to the frontier. On the 
breaking out of the Mexican war, he was detailed to General 
Taylor's command, but soon followed Scott — who, it will be 
remembered, was compelled to take from Taylor's already 
meagre army, enough men to open the campaign against Yera 
Cruz. He followed the fortunes of the General into the Capi- 
tal City, serving with distinction in every engagement up to 
38 



298 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

tlie entrance into tlie Grand Plaza. In February, 1847, he 
was made First Lieutenant, and for gallant conduct in the 
battles of Contreras and Cherubusco, during August following, 
he was breveted Captain. On September 13th, he was wounded 
in the assault on the Belen gate, and in June, 1851, was pro- 
moted to a Captainc}^ 

After the conclusion of peace with Mexico, he was ordered 
to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, preparatory to a contemplated 
march, overland, to California. By a change of orders from 
the AVar Department, his regiment was dispatched by ship via 
Cape Horn, and reached California soon after its acquisition 
by the United States. His stay in California was prolonged 
beyond that of most of his fellow-ofl&cers, and his time unceas- 
ingly employed in operating among the Indians, subjected to 
long and tedious marches, constant alarms, and frequent skir- 
mishes, living a large portion of the time in tents, and subject 
to the fatigues and privations incident to a campaign in that 
new and hitherto unknown countrj^, so far removed fi'om the 
comforts of civilization. 

xifter being relieved from his long service in California, he 
was again stationed on our Western fi-ontier, serving most of 
the time in Kansas and Nebraska. He consequently became 
familiar with the men and measures which have so agitated 
the country for the last few years in that section of the country, 
and imbibed no special love for Slavery Propagandism. From 
an ardent support of a Democratic Administration he passed — ■ 
as so many eminent Democrats also did — into the Free State 
part}'', to become an ardent enemy of the Buchanan regime. 
One who knew him well when he was stationed at FortReiley 
said : " He possessed great moral courage. Notwithstanding 
his personal bravery and his military education, he was consci- 
entiously opposed to duelling, and no provocation could ever 
drive him into a recognition of the code. On one occasion he 
was even struck on the face. Of course, it then required much 
more courage to refrain from challenging his adversai-y than 
to fight him; but he adhered inflexibly to his convictions. 
For a time this subjected him to misapprehension, and even to 



OF THE WAR. 299 

contempt, among military men ; but, long before his death, 
his fellow-officers understood and respected his position upon 
that subject 

The "Department of the West" after the Kansas troubles, 
passed under command of General Harney, whose headquarters 
were at St. Louis. Thither Lyon was called, upon the firet 
appearance of trouble in the political horizon. The outrages 
and infamous treachery toward Government committed by 
Floyd and his secession coadjutors, rendered it highly neces- 
sary that the St. Louis Arsenal should be intrusted to loyal 
hands ; and Lyon was placed in charge. Its property was 
preserved only by his decision, and his positive stand against 
treason. May 10th, he suddenly sallied out, at the head of 
two regiments of volunteers and a detachment of regulars, to 
seize the " State Guard" located close to St. Louis — taking the 
entire crowd prisoners, with all their artillery, camp equipage, 
munitions, etc. It was a bold stroke, but a masterly one ; for 
that State camp, as he well knew, was a camp of Secessionists, 
whose designs were inimical to the stability or security of 
Government property in St. Louis. Harney was soon called 
upon to relinquish the chief command ; and Captain Lyon, 
then chosen by the Missouri volunteers as their commanding 
General, was commissioned by the President Brigadier-General 
of Volunteers and assigned the chief command in Missouri — a 
command which he retained until July 9th, when Major- 
General Fremont became General-in-Chief of the Department 
of the Mississippi. 

The rest of Lyon's history is written in the chapter devoted 
to the campaign which resulted in the disaster at Wilson's 
Creek. It is a history at once pleasureable and painful to 
peruse — pleasurable for the brilliant achievement of the 
Federal troops up to their final retreat from South-western 
Missouri — painful, from the death of theii- gallant leader, and 
the necessity for such a retreat as followed. One who was in 
Missouri, and well knew the circumstances of Lyon's last des- 
perate dash at the overflowing ranks of the rebels, thus spoke 
of that last act and its disastrous^ termination : 



800 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" Now that the smoke begins to clear away from the battle of Spring- 
field, it is apparent that his death Avas worthy of his life. He attacked 
the enemy with a full comprehension that the odds were fearfully against 
him, and that little short of a miracle could enable him to come oflF 
victorious ; but he felt that the Cause demanded it ; that for him to 
abandon Springfield without a battle, would demoralize and dishearten 
the Union men of South-Avcst Missouri, and pain every loyal breast in 
the nation. The rebels would soon cut off his communication, and 
surround him ; the position was not susceptible of defense against their 
overwhelming numbers. He had no alternative but to fall back to 
Rolia, or to attack the enemy. He obeyed the voice of patriotism, and 
went out to danger and to death on that summer morning, ' as a man 
goes to his bridal.' Twice wounded, he was still undaunted, and re- 
fused to obey the requests of his friends, that he should seek a less ex- 
posed position. Even after he believed the day lost, he sprang eagerly 
from his dead horse into a fresh saddle ; at the head of a forlorn hope, 
dashed into the thick of the fight, and died like a true soldier. May 
his memory long be green in the nation's heart, and his name high in 
the roll of honor, among 

" ' The brave, who sink to rest, 

By all their country's wishes blest ! ' " 
After the battle, Lyon's body was borne back to Springfield, 
and thence taken to the farm of Hon. John S. Phelps, near at 
hand. There it was placed — by Lyon's brigade surgeon, Dr. 
Franklin, and by Mrs. Phelps — in a cof&n, sealed, and tempo- 
rarily deposited in a pit, preparatory to its removal to Eolla. 
But, the retreat was so rapid, and the necessities of the 
wounded so absorbing, that the body of the General was left 
for after-removal. . Mrs. Plielps had it carefully buried — her 
husband having had to flee with the retreating Unionists. It 
was recovered on Friday, August 23d, by a party who obtained 
it under the protection of a flag of truce — General Price kindly 
affording every facility for the disinterment 

It was borne to Connecticut for interment, accompanied by 
a guard of honor, composed of several of his fellow-officers 
and a detachment of the St. Louis Home Guards. Every- 
where on the route, where the remains tarried, they were re- 
ceived with civic and militaiy honors. In New York City 
they lay in state for a few hours. At Eastford, his native vil- 
lage, they were buried, with all the honor which admiring and 



OF THE WAR. SOI 

sympathetic friends could bestow — the Hon. Galusha A. Grow 
pronouncing the funeral oration. Resolutions were adopted 
at a large meeting of the citizens of Eastford, expressive of 
their consideration for the virtues and character of the deceased. 
We may quote one of several of the resolves adopted : 

" Fesolved, That as his fellow-townsmen, -while wc mourn our loss, wc 
rejoice that we have his birth-spot among us to cheer us in steadfast 
devotion to our country ; and we trust his grave among us will be the 
spot where future generations will gather, and be inspired with a noble 
emulation of his and the virtues of Sherman, Trumbull, Putnam, and 
others, who have arisen in this State, defenders of their country's fla"-, 
and supporters of its Government." 



-^^ -2v. jL J^^ • 



THE SECOND DISASTER IN MISSOURI. THE SIEGE AND 
FALL OF LEXINGTON. 

The seventy-tv.'-o hours defense of Lexington, by twenty- 
seven hundred and eighty troops under command of Colonel 
William Mulligan, was one of the most gallant affairs of the 
War. Learning that Price was pushing up in strong force 
toward Lexington, Colonel Mulligan started, September 1st 
with his Irish (Chicago) brigade, from his camp near Jefferson 
city — determined to hold Lexington at all hazards. If Lex- 
ington was lost it would give the rebels command of the Mis- 
souri, cutting off communication with the army in Kansas and 
threatening Jefferson city. As foreseen by Lyon, the rebels 
had, after their victory near Springfield, overrun the entire 
western section of the State, and so rapid were their advance 
toward the North and East that by September 1st the line of 
2a 



302 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

MissoLiri river was tlireatened hj tliem. Fremont ordered 
Mulligan forward to Lexington. Colonel Marshall's cavalry 
(Illinois) was to join him, with Colonel White's Home Guards, 
while Colonel Peabodj (Thirteenth Missouri) was to i'all back 
upon Lexington from Warrensburg if pressed by the enemy. 
In the meantime. General Sturgis was to move down from 
Kansas city with his entire disposable force (1,500) to the re- 
enforcement of Lexington, while General Lane was to press 
forward from Harrisonville and assail Price from that direc- 
tion. These movements, it was thought by Fremont, would 
so employ the enemy as to keep him at bay until he (Fremont) 
could come forward with his own forces from St. Louis and 
vicinity. 

Mulligan did his part. By a forced march of ten days his 
troops reached Lexington, having foraged by the way for 
rations. At Lexington he found Colonel Marshall with his 
cavalry and Colonel White's Home Guards — each command 
about five hundred strong. Colonel Peabody soon came in, 
pressed back by the enemy advancing upon Lexington from 
Warrensburg. The Federal troops had not long to wait, for, 
on the afternoon of September 11th, the rebels under Price in 
person appeared off the town. From Colonel Mulligan's own 
account of the affair,* we may quote : 

" On the 10th of September, a letter arrived from Colonel Peabody, 
saying that he was retreating from Warrensburg, twenty-five miles dis- 
tant, and that Price was pursuing him with ten thousand men. A few 
hours afterward, Colonel Peabody, with the Thirteenth Missouri, entered 
Lexington. We then had two thousand seven hundred and eighty men 
in garrison and forty rounds of cartridges. At noon of the 11th we 
commenced throwing up our first intrenchments. In six hours after- 
wards, the enemy opened their fire. Colonel Peabody was ordered out 
to meet them. The camp then presented a lively scene ; officers were 
hurrying hither and thither, drawing the troops in line and giving 
orders, and the Commander was riding with his staff to the bridge to 
encourage his men and to plant his artillery. Two six-pounders were 
planted to oppose the enemy, and placed in charge of Captain Dan. 
Quirk, who remained at his post till day-break. It was a night of fear- 



OF THE WAR. 



803 



fill anxiety. None knew at "vvliat moment the enemy wonld be upon 
tlie little band, and tiie hours passed in silence and anxious waiting. 
So it continued imtil morning, wben the Chaplain rushed into head- 
quarters, saying that the enemy were pushing forward. Two companies 
of the Missouri Thirteenth were ordered out, and the Colonel, with the 
aid of his glass, saw General Price urging his men to the fight. They 
wore met by Company K, of the Irish brigade, under Captain Quirk, 
who held them in check until Captain Dillon's company, of the Missouri 
Thirteenth, drove them back, and burned the bridge. That closed our 
work before breakfast. Immediately six companies of the Missouri 
Thirteenth and two companies of Illinois cavalry were despatched in 
search of the retreating enemy. They engaged them in a cornfield, 
fought with them gallantly, and harassed them to such an extent as to 
delay their progress, in order to give time for constructing intrenchments 
around the camp on College Hill. This had the desired eflfect, and we 
succeeded in throwing up earthworks three or four feet in height. This 
consumed the night, and was continued during the next day, the out- 
posts still opposing the enemy, and keeping them back as far as possible. 
At three o'clock in the afternoon of the 1 2th, the engagement opened 
with artillery. A volley of grapeshot was thrown among the officers, 
who stood in front of the breastworks. The guns within the intrench- 
ments immediately replied with a vigor Avhich converted the scene into 
one of the wildest description. The gunners were inexperienced, and 
the firing was bad. We had five six-pounders, and the musketry was 
firing at every angle. Those who were not shooting at the moon were 
shooting above it. The men were ordered to cease firing, and they were 
arranged in ranks, kneeling, the front rank shooting and the others 
loading. The artillery was served with more care, and within an hour 
a shot from one of our guns dismounted their largest piece, a twelve- 
pounder, and exploded a powder caisson. This achievement was re- 
ceived with shouts of exultation by the beleaguered garrison. The 
enemy retired a distance of three miles. At seven o'clock the engage- 
ment had ceased, and Lexington was ours again. Next morning Gene- 
ral Parsons, with ten thousand men at his back, sent in a flag of truce 
to a little garrison of two thousand seven hundred men, asking permis- 
sion to enter the town and bury his dead, claiming that when the noble 
Lyon went down, his corpse had fallen into his hands, and he had 
granted every privilege to the Federal officers sent after it. It was not 
necessary to adduce this as a reason why he should be permitted to 
perform an act which humanity would dictate. The recjuest was wil- 
lingly granted, and we cheerfully assisted in burying the fallen foe. On 
Friday the work of throwing up intrenchments went on. It rained all 
day, and the men stood knee deep in the mud, building them. Troops 



SOi INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

■R'ere sent out for forage, and returned with large quantities of provi' 
sions and fodder. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we stole seven 
days' ijrovisions for two tliousand seven hundred men. We had found 
no provisions at Lexington, and were compelled to get our rations as 
best we could. A quantity of powder was obtained, and then large 
cisterns were filled with water. The men made cartridges in the cellar 
of the college building, and cast one hundred and fifty rounds of shot 
for the guns, at the foundries of Lexington. During the little respite 
the evening gave us, we cast our shot, made our cartridges, and stole 
our own provisions. We had stacks of forage, j^lcnty of hams, bacon, 
&c., and ielt that good times were in store for us. All this time, our 
pickets were constantly engaged with the enemy, and we were well 
aware that ten thousand men were threatening us, and knew that the 
struggle was to be a desperate one. Earthworks had been raised breast- 
high, enclosing an area of fifteen to eighteen acres, and surrounded by 
a ditch. Outside of this was a circle of twenty-one mines, and still 
farther down were pits to embarrass the progress of the enemy. During 
the night of the 17th, we were getting ready for the defense, and heard 
the sounds of preparation in the camp of the enemy for the attack on 
the morrow. Father Butler went around among the men and blessed 
them, and they reverently uncovered their heads and received his bene- 
diction. At nine o'clock on the morning of the 18th, the drums beat 
to arms, and the terrible struggle commenced. The enemy's force had 
been increased to twenty-eight thousand men and thirteen pieces of ar- 
tillery, They came as one dark moving mass ; men armed to the teeth 
as far as the eye could reach — men, men, men, were visible. They 
planted two batteries in front, one on the left, one on the right, and one 
in the rear, and opened with a terrible fire, which Avas answered with 
the utmost bravery and determination. Our spies had informed us that 
the rebels intended to make one grand rout, and bury us in the trenches 
of Lexington. The batteries opened at nine o'clock, and for three 
days they never ceased to jjour deadly shot upon us. About noon the 
hospital Avas taken. It was situated on the left, outside of the 
intrcnchments. I had taken for granted, never thought it necessary to 
build fortifications around the sick man's couch. I had thought that, 
among civilized nations, the soldier sickened and wounded in the ser- 
vice of his country, would, at least, be sacred. But I was inexperi- 
enced, and had yet to learn that such was not the case with the rebels. 
They besieged the hospital, took it, and from the balcony and roof their 
sharpshooters poured a deadly fire within our intrenchments. It con- 
tained our chaplain and surgeon, and one hundred and twenty wounded 
men. It could not be allowed to remain in the possession of the enemy. 
A company of the Missouri Thirteenth was ordered forward to retake 



OF THE WAR. 805 

the hospital. They started on their crraiul, bnt stopped at the breast- 
works, ' going not out because it was bad to go out.' A company of 
the Missouri Fourteenth was sent forward, but it also shrank from the 
task, and refused to move outside the intrenchmcnts. The Montgom- 
ery Guard, Captain Gleason, of the Irish brigade, were then brought 
out. The commander admonished them that the others had failed ; 
and with a brief exhortation to ujihold the name they bore, gave the 
word to ' charge.' The distance was eight hundred yards. They started 
out from the intrenchmeut, first quick, then double-quick, then on a 
run, then faster. The enemy poured a deadly shower of bullets upon 
them, b^it on they went, a wild line of steel, and what is better than 
steel, human will. They stormed up the slope to the hospital door, 
and with irresistible bravery drove the enemy before them, and hurled 
them far down the hill bej'ond. At the head of those brave fellows, 
pale as marble, but not pale from fear, stood the gallant ofliccr. Captain 
Gleason. He said, ' Come on, my brave boys,' and in they rushed. 
But when their brave captain returned, it was with a shot through the 
cheek and another through the arm, and with but fifty of the eighty he 
had led forth. The hospital was in their possession. This charge was 
one of the most brilliant and reckless in all history, and to Captain 
Gleason belongs the glory. Each side felt, after this charge, that a 
clever thing had been done, and the fire of the enemy lagged. We 
were in a terrible situation. Towards night the fire increased, and in 
the evening word came from the rebels that if the garrison did not sur- 
render before the next day, they would hoist the back flag at their 
cannon and give us no quarter. Word was sent back that ' when wo 
asked for quarter it would be time to settle that.' It was a terrible 
thing to see those brave fellows mangled, and with no skillful hands 
to bind their gajjing wounds. Our surgeon was held with the enemy, 
against all rules of war, and that, too, when we had released a surgeon 
of theirs on his mere pledge that he was such. Captain Moriarty went 
into the hospital, and, with nothing but a razor, acted the part of a 
surgeon. We could not be without a chaplain or surgeon any longer. 
There Avas in our ranks a Lieutenant Hickey, a rollicking, jolly fellow, 
who was despatched from the hospital with orders to procure the sur- 
geon and chaplain at all hazards. Forty minutes later and the brave 
Lieutenant was borne by, severely wounded. As he was borne past I 
heard him exclaim, ' God have mercy on my little ones !' And God did 
hear his prayers, for the gay Lieutenant is up, as rollicking as ever, and 
i« now forming his brigade to return to the field. On the morning of 
the 19th the firing was resumed and continued all day. We recovered 
our surgeon and chaplain. The day was signalized by a fierce bayonet 
charge vipon a regiment of the enemy, Avhich served to show them that 

39 2a2 



306 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

our men were not yet completely ■worried out. The officers had told 
tliem to hold out until the 19th, Avhen they would certainly be reen- 
forced. Through that day our little garrison stood with straining eyes, 
watching to see if some friendly flag was bearing aid to them — with 
straining car, awaiting the sound of a friendly cannonade. But no re- 
enforcements appeared, and, with the energy of dcsjjair, they determined 
to do their duty at all hazard. The 19th was a horrid day. Our water 
cisterns had been drained, and we dared not leave the crown of the hill, 
and make our intrenchments on the bank of the river, for the enemy 
could have planted his cannon on the hill and buried us. The day was 
burning hot, and the men bit their cartridges ; their lips were parched 
and blistered. But not a word of murmuring. The night of the 19th 
two wells were ordered to be dug. We took a ravine, and expected to 
reach water in about thirty hours. During the night, I passed around 
the field, smoothed back the clotted hair, and by the light of the moon, 
shining through the trees, recognized here and there the countenances 
of my brave men who had fallen. Some were my favorites in days gone 
past, who had stood by me in these houi-s of terror, and had fallen on 
the hard fought field. Sadly we buried them in the trenches. The 
morning of the 20th broke, but r^o reenforcements appeared, and still 
the men fought on. The rebels had constructed movable lireastworks 
of hemp bales, rolled them up the hill, and advanced their batteries in 
a manner to command the fortification. Heated shot were fired at 
them, but they had taken the jDrecaution to soak the bales in the Mis- 
souri. The attack was urged with renewed vigor, and, during the fore- 
noon, the outer breastworks were taken by a charge of the rebels iu 
force. The whole line was broken, and the enemy rushed in upon us. 
Captain Fitzgerald, whom I had known in my younger days, and whom 
we had been accustomed to call by the familiar nickname, ' Saxy,' was 
then ordered to oppose his company to the assailants. As I gave the 
order, ' Saxy, go in,' the gallant Fitzgerald, at the head of company I, 
with a wild yell rushed in upon the enemy. Tlie Commander sent for 
a company on which he could rely; the firing suddenly ceased, and 
Avhen the smoke rose from the field, I observed the Michigan company, 
under their gallant young commander, Captain Patrick McDermott, 
charging the enemy and driving them back. Many of our good fellows 
were lying dead, our cartridges had failed, and it was evident that the 
tight would soon cease. It was now three o'clock, and all on a sudden 
an orderly came, saying that the enemy had sent a flag of truce. With 
the flag came the following note from General Price : 
" ' Colonel — What has caused the cessation of the fight ? ' 
" The Colonel returned it with the following reply written on the 
back : — 



OF THE WAR. 307 

" * General — I hardly know, unless you have surrendered.' 
" He took pains to assure me, however, that such was not the case. I 
learned soon after that the Home Guard had hoisted the white Hag. 
The Lieutenant who had thus hoisted the flag was threatened with in* 
stant death unless he pulled it down. The men all said, ' we have no 
cartridges, and a vast horde of the enemy is about us.' They were told 
to go to the line and stand there, and use the charge at the muzzle of 
their guns or perish there. They grasped their weapons the fiercer, turned 
calmly about, and stood firmly at their posts. And there they stood 
without a murmur, praying as they never prayed before, that the rebel 
horde would show tliemselves at the earthworks. An officer remarked, 
'this is butchery.' The conviction became general, and a council of war 
•was held. And when, finally, the white flag was raised. Adjutant Cos- 
grove, of your city, shed bitter tears. The place was given U2), upon 
what conditions, to this day I hardly know or care. The enemy came 
pouring in. One foppish officer, dressed in the gaudiest uniform of his 
rank, strutted ujj and down through the camp, stopped before our men, 
took out a pair of handcuffs, and holding them up, said, 'Do you know 
what these are for ?' We were placed in file, and a figure on horseback, 
looking much like 'Death on the pale horse,' led us through the streets 
of Lexington. As we passed, the secession ladies of Lexington came 
from their houses, and from the fence tops jeered at us. Yfe were then 
taken to a hotel with no rations and no proprietor. After we had board- 
ed there for some time, we started with General Price, on the morning of 
the 30th, for ' the land of Dixie.' " 

This disaster intensely excited the country against the com- 
manding General of the West. It was pronounced a " reck- 
less sacrifice of men," a " piece of bad generalship," a " reck- 
less disregard of circumstances ;" the loss of Lyon and the re- 
treat of his forces were recalled with much bitterness ; and the 
call became loud for Fremont's supercedure. But, it is cer- 
tain that Fremont was unable to cope with all the embari-ass- 
ing circumstances by which he was surrounded. He assumed 
command of the Department at a date when all other cam- 
paigns were already organized and in motion. He found few 
men, few arms, but little artiller}'-, no transports awaiting him 
— all had to be created. The enemy, in the meanwhile, was 
in the field — armed and ready for an immediate attempt to 
" drive the invaders and the hireling Dutch beyond the Mis- 
sissippi." He fell upon Lyon and Siegel in overwhelming 



808 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

force, and pressed tlie Federal lines back until Lexington was 
open before him. That Fremont, during all this advance, was 
alive to the peril, his almost reckless exertions to obtain arms, 
horses, artillery and transports, all attest ; and, if he did not 
succeed in keeping Price out of Lexington, it is certain that 
he came so near accomplishing the circumvention and capture 
of the combined rebel forces, that the country has not hesitated 
to exonerate him from much, if not all, the blame at one time 
heaped upon him.* His suspension from command at the 
very moment when he was about to meet his foe, and to real- 
ize the fruits of his unquestionably well-laid schemes, was one 
of those military errors which seem inseparable from every 
great war. 



xxx 



THE CHARGE OF THE THREE HUNDRED. 

The charge of Fremont's " Body Guard" under Major 
Zagonyi, and the "" Prairie Scouts" of Major Frank Ward into 
Springfield, is conceded to have been one of the most brilliant 
feats of arms of modern warfare. 

* The defense of Fremont made by the Hon. Schuyler Colfax, through 
the columns of the South Bend (Indiana) Begister, silenced cavil and 
excited sympathy for him even among those Avhose censures had been 
most severe. It was shown that, as rapidly as Fremont would fit his 
men for the field they were taken from him and sent to swell the ranks 
of the army of the Potomac — where the jDeril was regarded as more 
imminent than in Missouri. Five thousand men ready to support Mul- 
ligan were, at the very moment of their departure, counter-ordered to 
the East. 

An interesting series of papers on " Fremont's Hundred Days in Mis- 
souri," will be found in the Atlantic Monthly for January, February and 
March, 1863. 



OF THE WAR. 309 

Charles Zagonyi was a Hungarian refugee wlio, like so many 
of his countrymen, had fled to this country after the suppres- 
sion of the revolution in his native country by the iron hand 
of the Eussian Czar. His daring character brought the young 
officer to the notice of the invincible General Bem, by 
whom he was placed in command of a troop of picked cavalry 
for extraordinary service. His story, after that hour, up to 
the date of his capture by the enemy, was one of unparalleled 
daring. His last act was to charge upon a heavy artillery 
force. Over one half of his men were killed and the rest 
made prisoners, but not until after the enemy had suffered 
terribly. He was then confined in an Austrian dungeon, and 
finally released, at the end of two years, to go into exile in 
America. 

Fremont drew around him a large number of these refugees 
from European tyranny, and found in them men of great 
value, in all departments of the service. Zagonyi enlisted 
three hundred carefully chosen men who, as a " Body Guard," 
served as pioneers and scouts in Fremont's advance. The ex- 
ploit at Springfield was only one of many similar services for 
which they were designated by Fremont ; but, the suspension 
of his command in Missouri broke up the Guard and Zagonyi 
withdrew from the service until his leader should again be 
given a command. 

The Guard was mounted, and was armed with German 
sabers and revolvers — the first company only having carbines. 
The horses were all bay in color, and were chosen with special 
reference to speed and endurance. 

The expedition to Springfield was planned, as it afterwards 
appeared, upon false information. Instead of Springfield be- 
ing held by a small force, it was in possession of twelve hun- 
dred infantry and four hundred cavalry. Major Frank White 
had been ordered by Genei'al Siegel to make a reconnoissance 
toward Springfield — the Union army then being at Camp 
Haskell, south of the Ponime de Terre E,iver, thirty -four miles 
from Warsaw and fifty-one from Springfield. The Major had 
just come in with his dashing " Prairie Scouts," one hundred 



310 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

and fifty-four strong, from their gallant dasli into Lexington ; 
and the order to strike out for the reconnoissance found them 
jaded from over service. The Major, however, put out, and 
was far on his way when, on the 24th (of October) he was 
joined by Zagonyi, who assumed connnand of the expedition, 
by order of Fremont. Zagon}-! had with him one half of his 
Guard, provided with only one ration. The march to Spring- 
field was to be forced, in order that the enemy should be sur- 
prised and the place secured before rebel reenforcements could 
reach it. The combined Scouts and Guard marched all 
Thursday (October 24th) night ; briefly rested Friday morn- 
ing, then pushed on and were before Springfield at three P. M. 
on the 25th — the fifty-one miles having been accomplished in 
eighteen hours. 

Eight miles from Springfield five mounted rebels were 
caught ; a sixth escaped and gave the alarm to the forces in 
the town, whose strength, Zagonyi learned from a Union 
farmer, was fully two thousand strong. Nothing was left but 
a retreat or bold dash. Zagonyi did not hesitate. His men 
responded to bis own spirit fully, and were eager for the 
adventure, let it result as it would. Major White was so ill 
from over work that, at Zagonyi's entreatj^, he remained at a 
farm-house for a brief rest. The Union farmer offered to pilot 
the Body Guard around to the Mount Yernon approach on the 
West — thus hoping to effect a surprise in that direction, as the 
enemy was, doubtless, aligned to receive the assault on the 
Bolivar road, on the North. Of this detour White knew no- 
thing, and after his rest he pushed on with his guard of five 
men and a Lieutenant, to overtake his troops. He travelled 
up to the very outskirts of the town, and yet did not come up 
to his men. Supposing them in possession of the place, he 
kept on and soon found himself in a rebel camp — a prisoner. 
He was immediately surrounded by a crew of savages, who at 
once resolved to have his life. Captain Wroton, a rebel offi- 
cer, only saved the Federal officer and his men from murder 
by swearing to protect them with his life. The blood-thirstj 



OF THE WAR. 811 

wretclies were only kept at bay by tlie constant presence of 
Wroton. 

We may quote the particulars of the charge as given by 
Major Dorsheimer in his most admirable papers on Fremont's 
Campaign, before referred to, in the Atlantic Montldy: 

The foe were advised of the intended attack. When Major Wright 
■was brought into their camp, they were preparing to defend their posi- 
tion. As appears from the confession of prisoners, they had twenty-two 
hundred men, of whom four hundred were cavalry, the rest being in- 
fantry, armed with shot guns, American rifles, and revolvers. Twelve 
hundred of their foot were posted along the edge of the wood upon the 
crest of the hill. The cavalry was stationed u^Don the extreme left, on 
top of a spur of the hill, and in front of a ijatch of timber. Sharp- 
shooters were concealed behind the trees close to the fence along-side 
the lane, and a small number in some underbrush near the foot of the 
liill. Another detachment guarded their train, holding possession of 
the county fair-ground, which was surrounded by a high board-fence. 

This position was unassailable by cavalry from the road, the only 
point of attack being down the lane on the right ; and the enemy were 
so disposed as to command this approach perfectly. The lane was a 
blind one, being closed, after passing the brook, by fences and ploughed 
land ; it was in fact a cul-de-sac. If the infantry should stand, nothing 
could save tlic rash assailants. There are horsemen sufficient to sweep 
the little band before them, as helplessly as the withered forest-leaves 
in the grasp of the autumn winds ; there are deadly marksmen lying 
behind the trees upon the heights and lurking in the long grass upon 
the lowlands; while a long line of foot stand upon the summit of the 
slope, who, only stepping a few paces back into the forest, may defy the 
boldest riders. Yet, down this narrow lane, leading into the very jaws 
of death, came the three hundred. 

On the prairie, at the edge of the woodland in which he knew his 
wily foe lay hidden, Zagonyi halted his command. He spurred along 
the line. AVith eager glance he scanned each horse and rider. To his 
officers he gave the simple order, " Follow me! do as I do !" and then 
drawing up in front of his men, with a voice tremulous and shrill with 
emotion, he spoke — 

" Fellow-soldiers, comrades, brothers ! This is your first battle. For 
our three hundred, the enemy are two thousand. If any of you are 
sick, or tired by the long march, or if any think the number is too 
great, now is the time to turn back." He paused— no one was sick or 
tired. " We must not retreat. Our l)onor, the honor of our General 
and our country, tell us to go on. I will lead you. Wc have been 



312 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

called holiday soldiers for tlie pavements of St. Louis ; to-day we will 
show that we are soldiers for the battle. Your watchword shall be — 
' The Union and Fremont P Draw saber ! By the right flank— quick 
trot — march !' 

Bright swords flashed in the sunshine, a passionate shout burst from 
every lip, and with one accord, the trot passing into a gallop, the com- 
pact column swept on in its deadly purpose. Most of them were boys. 
A few weeks before they had left their homes. Those who were cool 
enough to note it say that ruddy cheeks grew pale, and fiery eyes were 
dimmed with tears. Who shall tell what thoughts, what visions of 
peaceful cottages nestling among the groves of Kentucky, or shining 
upon the banks of the Ohio and the Illinois— what sad recollections of 
tearful farewells, of tender, loving faces, filled their minds during those 
fearful moments of suspense ? No word was spoken. With lips com- 
pressed, firmly clenching their sword-hilts, with quick tramp of hoofs 
and clang of steel, honor leading and glory awaiting them, the young 
soldiers flew forward, each brave rider and each straining steed mem- 
bers of one huge creature, enormous, terrible, irresistible. 
" 'T were worth ten years of peaceful life, 
One glance at their array." 

Tliey pass the fair-ground. They are at the comer of the lane where 
the wood begins. It runs close to the fence on their left for a hundred 
yards, and beyond it they see white tents gleaming. Tliey are half-way 
past the forest, when, sharp and loud, a volley of musketry bursts upon 
the head of the column ; horses stagger, riders reel and fall, but the 
troop presses forward undismayed. The farther corner of the wood is 
reached, and Zagonyi beholds tlie terrible array. Amazed, he involun- 
tarily checks his horse. The Rebels are not surprised. There to his 
left they stand crowning the height, foot and horse ready to engulph 
him, if he shall be rash enough to goon. The road he is following 
declines rapidly. There is but one thing to do — run the gauntlet, gain 
the cover of the hill, and charge up the steep. These thoughts pass 
quicker than they can be told. He waves his saber over his head, and 
shouting, " Forward ! follow me ! quick trot ! gallop !" he dashes head- 
long down the stony road. The first company, and most of the second 
follow. From the left a thousand muzzles belch forth a hissing flood 
of bullets; the poor fellows clutch wildly at the air and fall from their 
saddles, and maddened hoi'ses throw themselves against the fences. 
Their speed is not for an instant checked ; farther down the hill they 
fly, like wasps driven l)y the leaden storm. Sharp volleys pour out of 
the underbrush at the left, clearing wide gaps through their ranks. 
They leap the brook, take down the fence, and draw up under shelter 
of the hill. Zagonyi looks around him, and to his horror sees that only 



OF THE WAR. 813 

a fourth of liis men are "witli him. He cries, "They do not come — we 
are lost !" and frantically waves his saber. 

He has not long to wait. The delay of the rest of the Guard was not 
from hesitation. When Captain Foley reached the lower corner of the 
wood and saw the enemy's line, he thought a flank attack might be ad- 
vantageously made. He ordered some men to dismount and take down 
the fence. This was done under a severe fire. Several men fell, and 
he found the wood so dense that it could not be penetrated. Looking 
down the hill, he saw the flash of Zagonyi's saber, and at once gave the 
order, " Forward 1" At the same time, Lieutenant Kennedy, a stalwart 
Kentuckian, shouted, " Come on, boys ! remember Old Kentucky !" 
and the third company of the Guard, fire on every side of them — from 
behind trees, from under the fences — with thundering strides and loud 
cheers, poured down the slope and rushed to the side of Zagonyi. They 
have lost seventy dead and wounded men, and the carcasses of horses 
are strewn along the lane. Kennedy is wounded in the arm, and lies 
upon the stones, his faithful charger standing motionless beside him. 
Lieutenant Goff received a wound in the thigh ; he kept his seat, and 
cried out, " The devils have hit me, but I will give it to them yet !" 

The remnant of the Guard are now in the field under the hill, and 
from the shape of the ground the Rebel fire sweeps with the roar of a 
whirlwind over their heads. Here we will leave them for a moment, 
and trace the fortunes of the Prairie Scouts. 

When Foley brought his troop to a halt, Captain Fairbanks, at the 
head of the first company of Scouts, was at the point where tlie first 
volley of musketry had been received. The narrow lane was crowded 
by a dense mass of struggling horses, and filled with the tumult of 
battle. Captain Fairbanks says, and he is corroborated by several of 
his men who were near, that at this moment an officer of the Guard 
rode up to him and said, " They are flying; take your men down that 
lane and cut ofl^ their retreat" — pointing to the lane at the left. Captain 
Fairbanks was not able to identify the person who gave this order. It 
certainly did not come from Zagonyi, who was several hundred j'ards 
farther on. Captain Fairbanks executed the order, followed by the 
second company of Prairie Scouts, under Captain Kehoe. When this 
movement was made. Captain Naughton, with the Third Irish dragoons, 
had not reached the corner of the lane. He came up at a gallop, and 
was about to follow Fairbanks, when he saw a Guardsman who pointed 
in the direction in which Zagonyi had gone. He took this for an order, 
and obeyed it. When lie reached the gap in the fence, made by Foley, 
not seeing anything of the Guard, he supposed they had passed through 
at that place, and gallantly attempted to follow. Thirteen men fell in 
a few minutes. He was shot in the arm and dismounted. Lieutenant 

40 2b 



314 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Connolly spurred into tlie underbrush and received two balls tlivougli 
the lungs and one in the left shoulder. The dragoons, at the outset 
not more than fifty strong, were broken, and, dispirited by the loss of 
their officers, retired. A sergeant rallied a few and brought them up 
to the gap again, and they were again driven back. Five of the boldest 
passed down the hill, joined Zagonyi, and were conspicuous for their 
valor during the rest of the day. Fairbanks and Kelioe, having gained 
the rear and left of the enemy's position, made two or three assaults 
ujDon detached parties of the foe, but did not join in the main attack. 

I now return to the Guard. It is forming under the shelter of the 
hill. In front, with a gentle inclination, rises a grassy slope broken by 
occasional tree-stumps. A line of fire upon the summit marks the po- 
sition of the rebel infantry, and nearer and on tlie top of a lower emi- 
nence to the right stand their horse. Up to this time no Guardsman 
has struck a blow, but blue coats and bay horses lie tliick along the 
bloody lane. Their time has come. Lieutenant Maythenyi with thirty 
men is ordered to attack the cavalry. With sabres flashing over their 
heads, the little band of heroes spring towards their tremendous foe. 
Right upon the centre Ihey charge. The dense mass opens, the blue 
coats force their way in, and the whole rebel squadron scatter in dis- 
graceful flight through the corn-fields in the rear. Tlie bays follow 
them sabring the fugitives. Days after, the enemy's horses lay thick 
among the uncut corn. 

Zagonyi holds his main body until Maythenyi disappears in the cloud 
of rebel cavalry ; then his voice rises through the air: "In open order 
— charge!" The line opens out to give play tc their sword-arm. 
Steeds respond to the ardor of their riders, and quick as thought, with 
thrilling cheers, the noble hearts rush into the leaden torrent which 
pours down the incline. With unabated fire the gallant fellows jjress 
through. Their fierce onset is not even checked. The foe do not wait 
for them — they waver, break and fly. The Guardsmen spur into the 
midst of the rout, and their fast-falling swords work a terrible revenge. 
Some of the boldest of the Southrons retreat into the woods, and con- 
tinue a murderous fire from behind trees and thickets. Seven Guard 
horses fall upon a space not more than twenty feet square. As his 
steed sinks under him, one of the officers is caught around the shoulders 
by a grape-vine, and hangs dangling in the air until he is cut down by 
his friends. 

The rebel foot are flying in furious haste from the field. Same take 
refuge in the fair-ground, some hurry into the corn-fields, but the great- 
er part run along the edge of the wood, swarm over the fence into the 
road, and hasten to the village. The Guardsmen follow. Zagonyi 
leads them. Over the loudest roar of battle rinses his clarion voice — • 



OF THE WAE. 315 

" Come on, Old Kentuck ! Fin with you ! " And the flash of his sword- 
blade tells his men where to go. As he aiiproaches a barn, a man steps 
from behind the door and lowers his rifle ; but before it has readied a 
level, Zagonyi's sabre-point descends upon his head, and his life-blood 
leaps to the very to]) of the huge barn door. 

The conflict now raged through the village — in the public square, and 
along the streets. Up and down the Guards ride in squads of three or 
four, and wherever they see a grouj) of the enemy, charge upon and 
scatter them. It is hand to hand. No one but has a share in the fray. 

There was at least one soldier in the Southern ranks. A young officer, 
superbly mounted, charges alone upon a large body of the Guard. He 
jDasses through the line unscathed, killing one man. He wheels, charges 
back, and again breaks through, killing another man. A third time he 
rushes upon the Federal line, a score of sabre-points confront him, a 
cloud of bullets fly around him, but he pushes on until he reaches Za- 
gonyi — he presses his pistol so close to the Major's side, that he feels it 
and draws convulsively back, the bullet passes through the front of 
Zagonyi's coat, who at the instant runs the daring rebel through the 
body ; he falls, and the men, thinking their commander hurt, kill him 
with a dozen wounds. 

" He was a brave man," said Zagonyi afterwards, " and I did wish to 
make him prisoner." 

Meanwhile it has grown dark. The foe have left the village and the 
battle has ceased. The assembly is sounded, and the Guard gathers in 
the Plaza. Not more than eighty mounted men aj^pear : the rest are 
killed, wounded, or unhorsed. At this time one of the most charac- 
teristic incidents of the afiair took place. 

Just before the charge, Zagonyi directed one of his buglers, a French- 
man, to sound a signal. The bugler did not seem to pay any attention 
to the order, but darted ofi" with Lieutenant Maytlienyi. A few moments 
afterwards he was observed in another part of the field vigorously pur- 
suing the flying infantry. His active form was always seen in the 
thickest of the fight. When the line was formed in the Plaza, Zagonyi 
noticed the bugler, and a^jproaching him said : " In the midst of battle 
you disobeyed my order. You are unworthy to be a member of the 
Guard. I dismiss you." The bugler showed his bugle to his indignant 
commander — the mouth-piece of the instrument was shot away. He 
said : " The mouth was shoot ofl". I could not bugle viz mon bugle, 
and so I bugle viz mon pistol and sabre." It is unnecessary to add, the 
brave Frenchman was not dismissed. 

I must not forget to mention Sergeant Hunter, of the Kentucky com- 
pany. His soldierly figure never failed to attract the eye in the ranks 
of the Guard. He had served in the regular cavalry, and the Body- 



316 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Guard had profited greatly from liis skill as a drill-master. He lost 
three horses in the fight. As soon as one was killed, he caught another 
from the rebels: the third horse taken by him in this way he rode into 
St. Louis. 

The Sergeant slew five men. " I won't speak of those I shot," said 
he—" another may have hit them; but those I touched with my sabre I 
am sure of, because I felt them." 

At the beginning of the charge, he came to the extreme right and took 
position next to Zagonyi, whom he followed closely through the battle. 
The llajor, seeing him, said : 

" Why are you here, Sergeant Hunter ? Your place is with your 
company on the left." " I kind o'wanted to be in the front," was the 
answer. 

" What could I say to such a man ?" exclaimed Zagonyi, speaking of 
the matter afterwards. 

There was hardly a horse or rider among the survivors that did not 
bring away some mark of the fray. I saw one animal with no less than 
seven wounds — none of them serious. Scabbards were bent, clothes 
and caps pierced, pistols injured. I saw one pistol from which the sight 
had been cut as neatly as it could have been done by machinery. A 
piece of board a few inches long was cut from a fence on the field, in 
which there were thiity-one shot-holes. 

It was now nine o'clock. The wounded had been carried to the 
hospital. The dismounted troopers were placed in charge of them — in 
the double capacity of nurses and guards. Zagonyi expected the foe to 
return every minute. It seemed like madness to try and hold the town 
with his small force, exhausted by the long march and desperate fight. 
He therefore left Springfield, and retired before morning twenty-five 
miles on the Bolivar road. 

Captain Fairbanks did not see his commander after leaving the column 
in the lane, at the commencement of the engagement. About dusk he 
repaired to the prairie, and remained there within a mile of the village 
until midnight, when he followed Zagonyi, rejoining him in the morn- 
ing. 

I will now return to Major White. During the conflict upon the hill. 
he was in the forest near the front of the rebel line. Here his horse 
was shot under him. Captain Wroton kept careful watch over him. 
When the flight began he hurried White away, and, accompanied by 
a squad of eleven men, took him ten miles into the country. They stop- 
ped at a farm-house for the night. White discovered that their host 
was a Unicm man. His parole having expired, he took advantage of the 
momentary absence of his captor to speak to the farmer, telling him who 
he was, and asking him to send for assistance. The countryman mount- 



OF THE -WAR. 817 

eel liis son npoti his swiftest horse, and sent him for succor. Tlie party 
lay clown by the fire, White being placed in the-jiidst. The rebels were 
soon asleep, but there was no sleep for the Major. He listened anxious- 
ly for the footsteps of his rescuers. After long weary hours, he heard 
the tramp of horses. He arose, and walking on tiptoe, cautiously step- 
ping over his sleeping guard, he reached the door and silently unfasten- 
ed it. The Union men rushed into the room and took the astonished 
Wroton and his followers prisoners. At daybreak White rode into Spring- 
field at the head of his captives and a motley band of Home Guard. He 
found the Federals still in possession of the place. As the officer of 
highest rank, he took command. His garrison consisted of twenty- four 
men. He stationed twenty-two of them as pickets in the outskirts of 
the village, and held the other two as a reserve. At noon the enemy 
sent a fiag of truce, and asked permission to bury their dead. Major 
White received the flag with proper ceremony, but said that General 
Siegel was in command and the request would have to be referred to him. 
Siegel was then forty miles away. In a short time a written communi- 
cation purporting to come from General Siegel, saying that the reliels 
might send a pnrty under certain restrictions to bury their dead: White 
drew in some of his pickets, stationed them about the field, and under 
their surveillance the Southern dead were buried. 

The loss of the enemy, as reported by some of their working partv, was 
one hundred and sixteen killed. The number of wounded could not be 
ascertained. After the conflict had drifted away from the hill-side, 
some of the foe had returned to the field, taken away their wounded, 
and robbed our dead. The loss of the Guard was fifty-three out of one 
hundred and forty-eight actually engaged, twelve men having been left 
by Zagonyi in charge of his train. The Prairie Scouts reported a loss of 
thirty one out of one hundred and thirty : half of these belonged to 
the Irish Dragoons. In a neighboring field an Irishman was found stark 
and stiff, still clinging to the hilt of his sword, which was thrust 
through the body of a rebel who lay beside him. Within a few feet a 
second rebel lay, shot through the head. 

This was the first and the last exploit of the Guard. They 
returned, soon after, to St. Louis, along with Fremont. Their 
rations and forage were denied them and they were disbanded 
— ashamed of their soiled and ragged garments, and humiliated 
at their usage. Such are the fortunes of those at the mercy 
of opposing factions of the same service. 



2b2 



XXXI. 



BOSIBARDMENT OF THE PORT EOYAL FORTS. 

Seventy vessels sailed and steamed out of Hampton Eoads, 
on the morning of Tuesda}'', October 29th, stretching out to 
sea, then heading for the South. It was a fleet of conquest, 
bearing one of the most superb armaments that ever floated in 
American waters. Frigates, sloops-of-war, and gunboats were 
mixed in with stately ocean steamers ; while these had in tow 
nemerous small craft — all loaded to their fullest capacity with 
war materiel. Their destination was a mystery, even to those 
on board, except to those in whose hands the direction of that 
vast expedition was entrusted. The country speculated in 
vain as to whither it would move — Charleston, Savannah, New 
Orleans, Beaufort (S.C.,) Bull's Bay — all being named as pro- 
bable points of attack. This suspense was not cleared up 
until November 10th, when it became known, through rebel 
sources, that the Port Eoyal forts were ours. 

The particulars of the bombardment of these forts are very 
interesting. It was one of the most imposing spectacles of the 
war — not so sublimely wild as the bombardment of the New 
Orleans forts, but very novel and magnificent as a naval 
demonstration. 

The vessels of the squadron arrived off Kibben Head (Port 
Royal Harbor entrance) during the night of Sunday and the 
day of Monday, November 3d and 4th. The gunboats imme- 
diately commenced their soundings, to verify their old surveys 
of the channel. The rebel fleet, of five small vessels, under 
command of Commodore Tatnall, late of the United States 
Navy, put out from one of the estuaries, and engaged the 



OF THE WAR. 819 

reconoitering and stirveying boats. After a sharp passage the 
rebels retii-ed — evidently impressed with the smallness of his 
means to cope with such antagonists. The forts on Hilton 
Head and Bay Point kept silence, nor did any land batteries 
open, to betray their whereabouts to the fleet. 

To draw their fire, and determine the order of attack, the 
guaboat Mercury, under Captain Gilman, chief of the Engineer 
Corps, was dispatched " along shore" to reconnoitre. Several 
of the vessels of war during the day dropt so far into the har- 
bor, as to tempt the enemy to " show his teeth," which he did 
in a sharp manner, betraying a heavy battery on Plilton Head 
(afterwards discovered to be a well-appointed fort,) and two 
batteries on the opposite shores. The Union gunboats and the 
batteries kept up a fire for about two hours, when Commodore 
Dupont (in command of the Naval force of the expedition) 
signalled the boats out of the fight 

^Vednesday morning was fixed upon as the moment for the 
reduction of the batteries ; but, the flag- ship, Wabash, grounded 
on Fishing Eip shoal, and did not get off until too late for 
tide-flow, which her heavy draught required, in order safely to 
clear the bar and shoals. 

Thursday (November 7th) was the momentous day. The 
morning was one of the most beautiful of Southern latitudes. 
A gentle breeze broke the clear water's face into ripples, as if 
the Naiades were smiling at the tragedy which portended. 
Butterflies fluttered through the air, and the songs of Southern 
birds broke the stillness with their waves of melody. The 
vessels of war reposed in quiet just beyond the reach of the 
enemy's guns, while beyond swung the transports at anchor, 
containing fifteen thousand troops, as an audience, to witness 
in safety the sublime combat of artillery. 

At half past nine the vessels began to move into battle — in 
most novel and exciting disposition. The order as arranged 
was to sail in singly — the flag-ship Wabasli first ; each vessel 
to follow in its allotted succession. Passing slowly up stream, 
the starboard guns were to pour their fii-e into the two bat- 
teries (or forts) on the Bay Point side — passing down stream, 



I 



320 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

on tlie return, the battery (or fort) on Hilton Head, was to 
receive tlie fire. Tlie vessels, thus sailing in an ellipse, passed 
in and out of range of the enemy's stationary guns, dealing, 
as they passed in close range, a fearful shower of shot and 
shell. 

The first shot was fired by the Hilton Head fortification 
(Fort Walker,) as the Wabash steamed within range, at twenty- —^ 
six minutes past nine, A. M. Three shots were thus fired, fl 
Then the Bay Point battery opened, when the Wahash responded 
with a terrific broadside. Her batteries consisted of twenty- ^ 
six guns to the side, and a heavy pivot-gun fore and aft. I 
These literally rained their iron shower on the lesser rebel fort. 
No attention was paid to Fort "Walker. The flag-ship steamed 
slowly up stream, keeping the enemy under fire about twenty 
minutes, when she winded the line, turning southward, and, 
steaming down stream, gave Fort Walker her entire attention, ^ 
passing within eight hundred yards of the Fort, which showed-^ 
itself to be a very powerful work, moimting very lieavy and 
superior guns, whose fire proved them to be not only improved ■ 
ordnance, but well served. ^ 

The other vessels followed the same order of action. The 
/Susquehanna, Pawnee, /Seminole, Bienville, Pocahontas, Mohican, 
Augusta, and the gunboats Ottawa, Seneca, Unadilla, Pemhina, 
and Vandalia joined in the fray, firing shell with great rapidity 
and jDrecision, and making the battery vocal v/ith their prac- 
tice. The rebels fought their guns with a desperate coolness, 
and fired with a rapidity really surprising under the circum- 
stances. In Fort Walker, against which the Federals directed 
their chief efforts — the Confederate gunners were stripped to 
the waist, and worked like furies. Their officer in command, 
Brigadier-General Drayton, was efficient, cool, and stubborn, 
but what could withstand that fearful hail ? 

Around the course the stately messengers of destruction 
moved, never faltering, never failing to come up to the work 
with exhaustless fury. The smaller gunboats obtained a posi- 
tion close into shore where the fort guns were enfiladed, while 
the Bienville sailed in, at the second round, close to the fort. 



OF THE WAR. 321 

and gave lier tremendous guns witli sucli fearful effect that 
the enemy's best guns were soon silenced, but not until the 
vessel had been well spotted with the enemj'-'s shot. The 
Wabash also came to a stand, at the third round, about six 
hundred yards from the fort. That moment decided the day. 
No human power could face such a death-storm, and the enemy 
suddenly fled, taking to the woods in the I'ear with such haste 
as allowed no time for any to gather up even the most prized 
of their goods. 

The firing ceased at a few minutes past two P. M. — the bat- 
tle having thus been waged with stubborn fierceness for over 
four hours. Discovering that the enemy had probably evac- 
uated. Commander Rodgers — aid to Flag Officer Dupont — went 
ashore in the Mercury to find the enemy really gone. With 
his own hands he hauled down the rebel colors and flung the 
Stars and Stripes to the breeze. Then followed such a shout 
from the watching thousands as must have made appalling 
music for the Southern heart Fort Walker had fallen and 
South Carolina was " invaded." The " dastard Yankee" had 
opened a way into her very vitals. 

A reporter wrote, of the effects of the Federal bom- 
bardment : 

" The effects of our fire were to be seen on every hand in the work. 
On the line along the front, three guns were dismounted by the enfi- 
lading fire of our ships. One carriage had been struck by a large shell 
and shivered to pieces, dismounting the heavy gun mounted upon it, 
and sending the splinters flying in all directions with terrific force. 
Between the gun and the foot of the parapet was a large pool of Ijlood, 
mingled with brains, fragments of skull and j^ieces of flesh, evidently 
from the face, as portions of whiskers still clung to it. This shot must 
have done horrible execution, as other portions of human beings were 
found all about it. Another carriage to the right was broken to pieces, 
and tlie guns on the water fronts were rendered useless by the enfilading 
fire from the gunboats on the left flank. Tlieir scorching fire of shell, 
which swept with resistless fury and deadly effect across this long 
water pond, where the enemy had placed their heaviest metal, en lar- 
lette, without taking the jjrecaution to place traverses between the guns, 
did as much as anything to drive the rebels from their works, in the 
hurried manner I have before described. The works wore ploughed 
41 



322 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

up by the shot and sliell so badly as to make immediate repairs 
necessary. 

"All the houses and many of the tents about the work were jierfo- 
rated and torn by flying shell, and hardly a light of glass could be 
found intact, in any building wliere a shell exploded. The trees in the 
vicinity of the object of our fire, sliowed marks of heavy visitations. 
Everything, indeed, bore the marks of ruin. No wonder, then, that the 
rebels beat a hasty retreat. I can, and do, cheerfully bear testimony 
to the gallant and courageous manner in which the rebels maintained 
their position under a hot fire, and fought at their guns when many 
would have fled." 

Another correspondent wrote : 

" The road the rebels took was strcAvn for miles with muskets, knap- 
sacks, blankets, cartridge-boxes and other valuables that they had 
thrown away in their flight. They had retreated across the island to 
Seabrook, a distance of half a dozen miles, where they took boat for 
Savannah. Even the wliarf at Seabrook was strewn with valuables, 
carried even so far and abandoned at the last moment. Tlie troops who 
were in charge of this fort, and who certainly fought most gallantly, 
were the Twelfth regiment of South Carolina volunteers, under Colonel 
Jones, and the Ninth South Carolina volunteers, commanded by Colo- 
nel Haywood, and a battalion of German artillery, under Colonel Wago- 
ner. They had in the fort about 1,300 men in all — enough to serve all 
the guns in the most efiicient manner. They had also a field battery 
with 500 troops stationed at a point a short distance above Hilton Head, 
where they anticipated our transports would undertake to send troops 
to attempt a flank movement for the assistance of the navy. On the 
opposite side of the river they had 400 men. It cannot be denied that 
the resistance was as gallant as the final panic was complete ; but the 
hardest fighting on the rebel side was all done by the German artillery, 
they being the last to leave the fort, which they did not do until long 
after the greater part of the valiant Palmetto ' Chivalry' had taken to 
the woods to save their precious necks. 

" They had spiked but one gun, a most valuable rifled cannon, which 
they temporarily disabled Avith a steel sjiike, which can with difficulty 
be extracted. The other guns were, most of them, columbiads of the 
verv largest size, one hundred and thirty-pounders, and of the most ad- 
mirable finish, being the finest and latest productions of the Tredegar 
Works, Richmond, and fully equal to any guns owned by the North. 
There were twenty-three of these guns in the fort. 

" The fortification is of most admirable construction, evidently plan- 
ned and built under the superintendence of a thoroughly able engineer, 



OF THE WAR. 323 

and is one of the strongest works of the kind in the whole country. 
Our losses were : ten killed ; twenty-five wounded." 

As was anticipated, the fate of Fort Walker decided that of 
the opposite fortifications. The two batteries were that night 
abandoned without further struggle, and at daylight in the 
morning the Stars and Stripes floated over both the two points 
and St. Philip's Island. The works there were two well-con- 
structed earth-works, the one on Bay Point mounting twenty- 
one heavy columbiads, and the other mounting four co- 
in mbiads. 

It was a noticeable fact, that the large store of powder found 
was of the best English make — that many of the projectiles 
were of English make — that several of the rifled guns were of 
English manufacture. 

The abandoned fort and adjacent islands were immediately 
occupied by the troops on the transports. The islands and 
forts on the north side of the harbor were occupied Friday 
morning. In a few days Beaufort was a Federal city, and the 
Sea Islands around were soon sending their treasures of cotton 
once more to the " outer world." 



XSZXII. 



INCIDENTS OF THE CAPTURE OF THE PORT 
ROYAL FORTS. 

General Drayton, the rebel oflicer in command at Fort 
Walker, was brother of Captain Drayton, in command of the 
Pocahontas^ gunboat. The case certainly afforded a painful 
verification of the truth that, in the war, " brother was arrayed 



824 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

against brother. "* Captain Steedman, of the Bienville, gunboat, 
was a South Carolinian. He fought his vessel with remark- 
able skill and fury, as did also Captain Drayton the Pocahonlas. 

After the ships had made one round, and sailed their tierj 
circle once, the order of battle was changed ; certain ones of 
the gunboats dropped out of their assigned places, having dis- 
covered that they could take up a raking position which would 
enable them to remain stationary, and still keep up a rapid 
and galling fire on the fort. So, henceforth, the other attack- 
ing ships moved in a single line, the Wahash still leading. 

Four of the gunboats ran into the bight of the river, to the 
north of the Fort, where they were enabled to keep up an 
enfilading fire, that completely raked the entire fortifications 
of Fort Walker, and distressed the enemy exceedingly. These 
gunboats were the Ottawa^ Curlew, Seneca, and Unadilla. They 
were afterward joined by the Pocahontas. 

Very many of the shot from the shore batteries were aimed 
high, especially at the BieyiviUe, and other steamers having the 
walking-beam of the engine high above the deck, the object 
being to cripple the engine, and thus render the vessel un- 
manageable, so that she might drift on the shoals and become 
an easy prey. In these attempts they were not successful in 
a single instance, for not one of our ships, save the Penguin, 
which was immediately taken care of by one of our own boats, 
was injured in her steam works, so as to be disabled for a 
single instant. 

The rebels regarded the destruction of the fleet as certain — 
their powerful guns being relied upon to sink any hull which 
shoald come in their way. In some of the letters found, half 
finished, in tlie of&cers' quarters, the utter destruction of tlie 
entire expedition was considered so positively assured, and 
their belief in the ability of their batteries to put an effectual 
quietus upon the pretentions of Lincoln's fleet was so perfect, 
that, in one or two of the documents, the writers lamented the 

* Among other cases cited, is that of the sons of the venerable John 
J. Crittenden. One was a Major- General in the rebel service — the other 
was Brigadier-General in the Union army. 



OF THE WAR. 326 

necessity they should be under of sending the ships to the 
bottom, when the Confederates were so much in need of ships. 
It was taken for granted that the tremendous execution to be 
done by their heavy guns, would perforate the hulls of our 
ships, and send them instantly to the bottom. Having this 
confident expectation, the rebels looked eagerly after every 
fire to see some of our ships go down. They especially con- 
centrated their guns on the Wabash, and, as the prisoners 
afterward informed our men, were much surprised that she 
persisted in remaining afloat. When the ships had all passed 
their battery in safety for the first time, had " peppered them 
well," and had all escaped without apparent injury, the aston- 
ishment was great, and the universal impression began to 
prevail that there was some mistake. 

For the second time the fleet came steaming down ; for the 
second time the Federals poured in their terrible fire, dis- 
mantling guns, shattering buildhigs, and stretching in death 
numbers of men ; and for the second time the fleet passed on 
in safety, showing not the slightest sign of any intention of 
going to the bottom. 

By this time, a new element began to mingle with the feel- 
ings of the rebel garrison. With astonishment and wonder 
that they had not yet sunk any of the opposing vessels, began 
to mingle a large, a very large proportion, of doubt whether 
they could do it. 

Without paying more attention to the barking of the battery 
at Fort Beauregard, on Bay Point, than to pitch them an occa- 
sional shot, merely to let them know they were not forgotten, 
for the third time the ships rounded their circular track, and 
came slowly down to pay their respects again. Again was 
the whole fire of the fort concentrated on the Wabash, and 
afterward, in turn, on each one of the vessels, as they passed, 
in a fiery procession, before the shore, delivering with the 
utmost coolness and the most exact precision, their murderous 
fire, running even nearer than before, firing more effectually 
than ever, yet again steaming away unharmed, and turning 
the point for still another round. 
20 



326 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

The utmost consternation now took full possession of the 
rebels, and, in an uncontrollable panic, they lied with precipi- 
tiition. The panic at Bull Run was not more complete ; 
indeed, not half so much so, for the rebels in their mortal 
terror ran for the woods without stopping for anything what- 
ever. The left in their tents hundreds of dollars of money, 
gold watches, costly swords, and other valuables, showing that 
their fear was uncontrollable and complete. 

The flight, observed first from the little gunboat Mercury^ 
was communicated by her to the flag-ship, and then was imme- 
diately telegraped to all the fleet. 

When our men took possession on Bay Point, they discov- 
ered a characteristic trick of the enemy, which most luckily 
failed to succeed. The Secession flag was hauled partly down, 
and the halyards were connected with an ingenious percussion- 
cap apparatus, so arranged that the complete hauling down of 
the flag would explode the cap, which was intended to ignite 
a train of powder connected with the powder niagazina By 
some vmforeseen accident, a quantity of sand was thrown over 
part of the train of powder, so that although the cap exploded 
and fired a part of the powder, and blew up a neighboring 
house, it did not communicate with the magazine, and little 
harm was done. 

The Wabash fired, during the entire action, nine hundred 
shots, being all eight, nine, ten, and eleven-inch shells, with 
the exception of a few rifled-cannon projectiles of a new pat- 
tern, and which were used simply as a matter of experiment. 
The Susquehanna fired five hundred shots, the Bienville one 
hundred and eighty -five, and the average of the gunboats and 
the other smaller ships may probably be set down at one hun- 
dred and fifty each. There were, in all, sixteen vessels 
engaged on our side, and, probably, from all of them were fired 
not far from 3,500 shot and shell at the two forts, Walker and 
Beauregard, the four-gun battery, and Tatnall's, and the three 
steamers. 

On almost every vessel, after the fight, the men were called 
aft and publicly thanked by their respective Captains. On the 



OF THE WAR. 32T 

Jji'enviUe, particular mention was made and special tlianks 
returned, in presence of the ship's company, to William Ilenrj 
Steele, a boy not fourteen ^^ears old, who conducted himself 
with distinguished bravery. He was powder-boy ; and not 
only never flinched nor dodged a shot, but when two men 
were killed at his gun, he did not turn pale, nor cease, for an 
instant, his duties, but handed the cartridge he had in hand to 
the gunner, stepped carefully over the bodies, and hastened 
below for more ammunition. 

Thomas Jackson, coxswain of the Wabash, was struck by a 
shot, which so nearly cut his leg off as to leave it hanging by 
a small portion of the muscle and skin. Partially rising and 
leaning painfully against a gun, Jackson glanced at his mangled 
limb, and, in an instant perceived its helpless condition. Feel- 
ing behind his back in his belt, where seamen always carry 
their knives, he drew his sheath-knife from its leathern scab- 
bard, and deliberately began to saw away at his leg. He was 
borne below by his mates ; and afterward asked continually 
bow the fight was going, saying, " I hope we'll win it, I hope 
we'll win." In two hours he died ; his last words being a 
wish for victory, and a word of thanks that he had been able 
to do something for the honor of the " dear old flag." 

The Wabash was struck thirty-five times. One shot below 
the water-line started a bad leak. Another almost cut away 
the mainmast. Her rigging was badly cut up. Her handling 
was very effective. She was, at no time, in a position to be 
raked by the enemy's guns. She escaped with remarkable 
good fortune, considering that, as the flag-ship, she was the 
enemy's special target 

The Bienville was particularly exposed — having approached 
nearer the shore than any other vessel. But five shots struck 
her, and only one d(jing any serious injury. One columbiad 
solid shot struck her on the starboard bow, killing two and 
wounding three of her crew. 

The Penguin was struck in her steam-chest, but no person 
was injured by the escaping steam. She was immediately 
towed out of action by the Isaac Smith tug-boat, which, though 



328 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

not a fighter, was everywhere iu the midst of shot and shell, 
ready for towing off any disabled ship. 

The Pawnee was struck nine times. The Mohican also 
received a number of shots. These two were the most cut-up 
of any of the smaller vessels of the fleet. The OUaica, Seneca, 
Vandalia, Seminole, Susquehanna, Pocahontas, and Augusta, all 
were several times hit, but none were disabled. This apparent 
lack of execution, when the shots so many times struck the. 
vessels, arises from the fact that, either the rebels aimed high, 
for the purpose of breaking the walking-beams, and so crip- 
pling the engines of such of our vessels as could thus be dis- 
abled; or not deeming it possible that we would have the 
temerity to engage them at six hundred yards instead of two 
or three miles, the guns were all sighted for the longest range, 
and they consequently carried over, and clear of the hulls of 
our ships, and only cut the npper rigging. 

The enemy left Fort Walker so hurriedly that their private 
effects, indeed, everything were wholly abandoned. The 
Fedei-al troops found everything just as they left them. Din- 
ner tables were set, and good food ready for the hungry 
fighters. The amount of stuff found was astonishing. All was 
taken possession of by our forces, and, with the exception of a 
few articlcvs taken as mementoes of the occasion, everything 
was turned over to the proper oflicers. Quite a number of 
elegant swords and pistols, saddles, etc., were found, and dis- 
tributed among the deserving. 

The appearance of the old flag on the Game Cock State was 
hailed by enthusiastic cheers from the men of war, and caught 
up by the transports. Cheer after cheer went round the har- 
bor, bands played patriotic tunes, and every one felt most gay 
and festive. The effect on the men when the flag waved aloft, 
was differently and curiously manifested. Some cheered 
lustily, while others were choked with their emotions. Some 
wept with joy, the tears rolling down their cheeks as large as 
peas, whilst others were much excited at once more seeing the 
colors of the Federal Union waving over South Carolina's 
traitorous soil. 



XXXIII. 



THE FALL OF FORTS HENEY AND DONELSON". 

The sudden change of programme in the conduct of thenar 
in the West during February was owing to the fine stage of 
water in the rivers and to the proven efficiencj of the gun- 
boats. Anticipating an advance up the Cumberland and Ten- 
nessee rivei's the C(jnfederates had erected two strong fortifica- 
tions near the Tennessee line — Fort Henry on the Tennessee 
river and Fort Donelson, a powerful defense, on the Cumber- 
land, near Dover. These structures were well constructed, 
mounted heavy and numerous guns, were well flanked by rifle 
pits, and, beside their regular garrison, had heavy supporting 
field forces constantly within reach. It was their powerful 
character which induced Grant to desist from his first essay up 
the Tennessee. 

A movement against them, if successful, would at once 
force the rebel lines of defense far to the South, and render 
Bowling Green and Nashville an easy conquest. Whether 
to General Halleck, Commodore Foote, General Grant, or Mr. 
Lincoln belongs the credit of first conceiving the campaig-n, 
we do not know. That it was well planned and brilliantly 
executed, the history of the war proves. 

An order (February 1st) promulgated by General Grant, 
placed his forces on a footing of active service. It was as 
follows : 

"Head- QUARTERS District of Cairo, | 
. Caiko, Feb. 1st, 1SG2. j 
" For temporary government the forces of this military district will be divided 
and commanded as follows, to wit : 

42 2c2 



830 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

"The First brigade will consist of the Eighth. Eighteenth »Twenty-seventh 
Twenty-ninih, Tltirtietli and Thirty-first regiments of Illinois Volunteers, Scliwartz's 
and Dresser's batteries, and Stewart's, DoUin's, O'llarnet's, aad Carmichael's 
cavalry. Colonel R. J. Oglesby, senior Colonel of the brigade, commanding. 

" The Second brigade will consistof the Eleventh, Twentieth, Forty-fifth and Forty- 
eighth Illinois iafantry, Fourth Illinois cavalry, Taylor's and McAllister's artillery. 
(The latter with four siege guns) Colonel W. H. L. Wallace commandimg. 

" The First and Second brigades will constitute the first division of the district of 
Cairo, and will be commanded by Brigadier General John A. McClernand. 

" The Third brigade will consist of the Eighth Wisconsin, Forty-nintli Illinois , 
Twenty-fifth Indiana, four companies of artillery, and such troops as are yet to 
arrive, Biigadier General E. A. Paine commanding. 

" The Fourth brigade will be composed of the Tenth, Sixteenth, Twenty-second, 
and Thirty-third Illinois and the Tenth Iowa infantry ; Iloutaling's battery of light 
artillery, four companies of the Seventh and two companies of the First Illinois 
cavalry; Colonel Morgan commanding. 

" General E. A. Paine is assigned to the command at Cairo and Mound City, and 
Colonel Morgan to the command at Bird's Point. By order of 

" U. S. GRANT, Brigadier General Commanding. 

" Jko. a. Rawlins, Assistant Adjutant-Geneial." 

The advance — McClernand's two brigades — from Cairo, 
commenced by transports, February 3d, passing directly up 
the Tennessee river, and disembarking on the 4th four miles 
north of Fort Henrj^ The h'on-clad gunboats of Commodore 
Foote's fleet were ah-eady there. Upon the arrival of the 
troops three of the boats steamed up to reconnoiter and " feel 
of" the batteries. The enemy gave them a warm reception, 
fully showing his position and force. Eeenforcements pressed 
up almost hourly from below, until Grant's force, by February 
6th, was equal to any emergency. February 6th the General 
returned from the advance to Paducah to bring up General 
Smith's division, then at that point, 7000 strong. These all 
debarked at a favorable point, on the 6th, near the Fort. 

But the activity of Foote anticipated the slower movements 
of the army. lie steamed up, February 6th, passing around 
Painter's Creek Island — which lay over on the west side of 
the Tennessee, directly in front of Fort Henry. The enemy had 
neglected to obstruct that passage. 

The boats emerged above the Fort, only one mile away, hav- 
ing the stream in their favor. The gunboat Cincinnati^ (the 
" flag ship,'') Commodore Foote on board, opened the fight, 



OF THE WAR. 831 

slowly advancing clirectl j down upon the fort, followed by tlie 
/St. Louis, Carondelet, Essex, Conestoga and Lexington. The 
Fort replied with a furious and well served fire from heavy 
guns. Tlie boats floated down nntil within three hundred 
yards of the enemy's embrazures, when headway was stopped 
and a close quarter action ordered. The fire was perfectly 
appalling for a few minutes succeeding, when at 1.40 the ene- 
my's flag struck and the Fort was won. Its commander, Gen- 
eral Lloyd Tilghman of Kentucky, (formerly of the United 
States Army,) surrendered unconditionally, with his staff and 
artillerists, (sixty.) The rebel infantry encamped near the 
Fort fled at the first fire, abandoning even their dinner — leav- 
ing Tilghman to do his work alone. The rebels also had 
three gunboats which fle-d hastily up the river. The Fort 
mounted seventeen guns — most of them thirty-two and thirty- 
four-pounders rifled, and one, a superb ten-inch columbiad. 
The rebel loss was five killed and ten badly wounded. Why 
Tilghman surrendered, with only two guns disabled, our forces 
could not see. Commodore Foote received his sword, when 
General Tilghman said : " I am glad to surrender to so gallant 
an officer." Foote's notable reply was : "You do perfectly 
right, sir, in surrendering ; but you should have blown my 
boats out of the water before I would have surrendered 
to you !" 

The Cincinnati was hit by thirty-one shots — some of them 
passing through her. The Essex was disabled by a heavy 
ball, which entered her side forward port, cut through the 
bulkhead and squarely through one of her boilers. The 
escaping steam scalded to death the two pilots in the house 
above and injured more or less all on board, including Com- 
mander Porter. His aid, S. B, Brittan, was killed at his side 
by a shot. The Essex, after the disaster, was allowed to float 
down stream beyond the range of the guns. Her loss was six 
killed, seventeen wounded, and five missing. 

Grant's forces were in the Fort one half hour after its sur- 
render. A delay of the attack by the gunboats uiitil Grant 
could have invested the place, doubtless would have given 



S32 TXCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

the Union army the entire force of rebel infantry which so 
hastily fled across to Fort Donelson. 

This capture opened tJie way for an immediate descent on 
Fort Donelson. The pursuit of the retreating forces was 
rapid, and resulted in the capture of eight brass guns and 
thirty-thi-ee prisoners. Three gunboats pushed on iip the 
river disabling the railway bridge across the Tennessee and 
Danville, and securing considerable quanty of commissary 
stores, wagons and army supplies found at the bridge. The 
entire property secured by the day's work was valued at about 
two hundred thousand dollars. The gunboats returned on 
the 10th, having succeeded in reconnoitering as far up as 
Florence, and in capturing and destroying a number of steam- 
ers used by the enemy as transports. 

The ]-ebels hastened to reenforce Fort Donelson. Generals 
Pillow, Floyd and Buckner were all therewith their respective 
brigades, besides the regular garrison of the fortress, composed 
of artillerists from Columbus and the Mississippi river forts 
below. Outlying fortifications were thrown up, and rifle pits 
thrown out flank and rear. With this force and disposition 
It became evident that the reduction of the Fort would be a 
bloody affair, at best. 

Commodore Foote with five boats started down the Tennes- 
see immediately after the capture of Fort Henry, proceeding 
to Cairo to recruit and repair damages. On the night of 
February 11th he started for the Cumberiand river. 

The investment of Fort Donelson was complete by the 12th 
— McClernand's division having the Federal right win^^ and 
General Smith's the left, while Foote's gunboats commanded 
the nver and assaulted the works from the front. The pow- 
erful river batteries were his chief point of attack. Six gun- 
boats went into the fight February 14th before three P. m., 
the flag boat St. Louis leading. A severe contest followed of 
an hour and a half duration— the enemy using every possible 
exertion to overcome their water antagonists. They were so 
far successful as to shoot away the wheel of the .S'^. Louis and 
the rudder of the Louisville, while all the boats were riddled 



OF THE WAE. 333 

witTi sliot. The Si. Louis alone received fifty solid balls in 
and through her mail and upperworks. The firing of the ves- 
sels was fearfully destructive — much of the time some of the 
boats being within four hundred yards of the batteries. The 
enemy were completely driven from most of the guns, but 
three guns kept up the contest bravely so long as the iron- 
clads were within range. Fifty-four men were killed and 
wounded on the boats. The enemy's loss was not ascertained. 
The Tyler and Conesloga (not iron-clad) were disabled early in 
the fight. 

The particulars of tlio fight are so full of interest, as snow- 
ing the tremendous power of modern enginery of war, that we 
may quote from the account of one present during the terrific 
conflict : 

''At two p. M. (Feb. 14tli) precisely the signal was given from the flag- 
ship to get under weigh, and in a few moments we were slowly steaming 
up the river. We had proceeded perhaps a fourth of a mile when a 
single report, emanating from the ujiper battery of the Fort, greeted us, 
and notified us that the rebels were awaiting us in savage expectation. 
On we went, however, not a sound escaping from our crafts, except the 
slow puffing of the escape pipes and the cheery plashing of the paddle 
wheels, while the enemy were busy awaking the dormant echoes with 
their cannonading, and agitating the swollen waters with their shot and 
shell, scattered in promiscuous profusion all around us. When we had 
sailed up to within a mile of the Fort, the Flag Officer let go his star- 
board bow rifle, and we followed him with ours ; then the Pittsburg and 
Carondelet followed suit, and the ball was really opened in earnest. 
Our first shots fell short ; but a little more elevation of the guns reme- 
died the failing, and the next rr)und saw our balls dropped into uncom- 
fortably close proximity to their batteries. From this time to the end 
of the action there was not a lull in the steady and constant firing from 
our boats, nor was there a moment when the whole of the enemy's front 
was not a steady stream of fire. In order to get the best view of the 
action, I stationed myself upon the upper deck, and just as near in the 
Avake of the pilot house as possible, taking my chances at getting a 
sight of what was going on in front by abbreviated jDceps and squints 
around the corners, and hurried stares through the look-out holes which 
the considerate carpenter had left for the optical accommodation of the 
pilots. The flag-ship St. Louis took the advance, and was hugging the 
western shore ; then came our own (the Louisville)^ then the Pittsburg 
and Carondelet^ in order, and as near side by side as was possible in a 



334 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

river scarcely "n'ide enongli for two boats to pass each other. In this 
order we formed a straight battery of twelve guns in front, while the 
two gunboats Conestoga and Lexington, followed in our wake, pouring 
in their quota of missiles from their bow columbiads at a safe distance. 
We could see nearly every one of our shots take effect within or near 
the rebel batteries, the more deadly and certain as we slowly steamed 
up toward them. Thus we proceeded side by side, our fire never slack- 
ening or our determination faltering until we arrived within three hun- 
dred yards of the lower battery. At this time the enemy's shot and 
shells were screaming through the air or ravaging our sides and decks 
without cessation, while ours were divesting them of their more exposed 
batteries, ploughing up their hill-sides aad decimating their camps in 
terriljle haste. I saw one large shell from the Louisoille fall and explode 
directly under one of their guns, sending a score of rebel soldiers to 
their long homes, demolishing the battery and scattering those not 
killed or wounded in indecent haste to the nearest covers. When we 
had attained the last named position, viz. within three hundred yards 
of their works, we stopped our headway, and when the boats were mo- 
tionless we poured in our last and most destructive fire. It really 
seemed at this time that the quintessence of destruction was contained 
in those twelve great iron thunderers. With each discharge a rebel 
gun was silenced, at each broadside a host of frightened rebels would 
scud up the hill to a place of safety behind the upper earthworks, and 
all but two of the lower guns had ceased to deal us their destruction. 
Now a new battery of one hundred and twenty-pound guns opened 
upon us from the left and rear of the first works. We were within 
point blank range, and the destruction to our fleet was really terrible. 
One huge solid shot struck our boat just at the angle of the upper deck 
and pilot house, perforated the iron plating, passed through the heavy 
timbers and buried itself in a pile of hammocks just in front and in a 
direct line with the boilers. Another, a shell, raked us from bow to 
stern, passed through the wheelhouse, emerged, dropped and exploded 
ill the river just at our stern. Tlien a ten-inch solid shot entered our 
starboard bow port, demolished a gun carriage, killed three men and 
wounded four others, traversed the entire length of the boat, and sunk 
into the river in our wake. Then a shell came shrieking through the 
air, striking fiiir into our forward starboard port, killing another man 
and wounding two more, passed aft, sundering our rudder chains, and 
rendering the boat unmanageable. Now we were compelled to drop 
astern, and leave the scene of action ; but our gunners sent their respects 
to the rebels as long as their tire could be the least effective ; and, so 
far as we were concerned, the battle was over. 

" The last battery was the one that put the finishing stroke to the 



OF THE WAR. 335 

fleet. One of tho enemy's shells entered and exploded directly in the 
pilot house of the St. Louis, killing the pilot and wounding Flag Officer 
Foote severely in the leg. Two of the shots entered the Pitttshurg below 
the guards, causing her to leak badly, and it is j^robable that she will 
sink before morning. Another entered the Carojidelct, killing four m-en 
and injuring eight others. By this time three of the boats Avere disabled, 
and then the signal was given to back out and return to our anchorage. 
The enemy's lower battery was silenced, however, and only the two one 
hundred and twenty-pounders on the hill were playing upon us, and it 
is universally conceded that if we had had ten minutes more time Fort 
Donclsjn would have shared the fate of Fort Henry, and the Cumber- 
land river been opened and divested of its rebel embargo." 

Fort Donelson was thus described by one on the ground : 
'' This Fort takes its name from the Andrew Jackson Donelson 
family of Tennessee. Its construction was commenced in May 
last. No better position for defense could have been selected 
at any point on the Cumberland as yet passed by us. It is 
on a fine slope a hundred and fifty feet high, in a very slight 
bend, on the right hand side of the Cumberland, one hundred 
and seven miles from the mouth of the river, and nearly two 
hundred from Cairo. It mounts sixteen guns. There are 
three batteries — the first about twenty feet above the water, 
consisting of six guns, thirty-two and sixty-four-pounders ; the 
second about equal in strength, located about sixty feet above 
this ; and the third on the summit of the hill, mounting four 
one hur;dred and twenty-eight-pounders. The trenches in the 
vicinity of each battery are unusually deep. The earth works 
are not less than six feet thick, braced by heavy logs. The 
rebel camp is behind the hill, and cannot be reached from the 
gunboats b}^ shot or shell." 

The gunboats having been disabled, General Grant resolved 
not to await their repair, and prepared at once to assault and 
reduce the rebel stronghold. His army was rapidly strength- 
ened by five detachments from General Hunter's (Kansas) 
Department, and by all the available regiments of the Western 
States. The investment of the fort was completed by assign- 
ing the Federal center to General Lew Wallace's division. 

The gunboats withdrew Friday afternoon, (14th.) That 
night was spent in getting the brigades in position. Early on 



336 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Saturday morning (lotL) the enemy opened on the Federal 
right (McCJernand's division) by a sharp fire on Colonel Law- 
ler's Eighteenth Illinois regiment. All of Ogleby's brigade 
was quickly engaged. The brigades of Wallace and McAr- 
thur soon came into the fight, which, by ten' o'clock, became 
very furious. GeneralWallace sent four regiments to McCler- 
nand's support, viz. : the Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Ken- 
tucky and Thirty-first Indiana, with the Forty-fourth Indiana 
as a reserve. 

The troops on the right were disposed as follows : First, 
McArthur's brigade, consisting of the Ninth, Twelfth and 
Forty-first Illinois, having temporarily attached the Seven- 
teenth and Nineteenth Illinois. Next came Ogleby's brigade, 
the Eighth, Eighteenth, Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth and Thirty- 
first Illinois, and Schwartz's and Dresser's batteries. Next, 
Colonel W. II. L. Wallace's brigade, the Eleventh, Twentieth, 
Forty-fifth and Forty-eighth Illinois, and Taylor's and McAl- 
ister's batteries. 

These three brigades composed McClernand's division, and 
bore the brunt of conflict. Upon that point the rebels pressed 
with tlie utmost tenacity, and the deeds of valor there per- 
formed by both parties form one of the most splendid, though 
bloody, ]-ecords of the entire war. McClernand's men exhaust- 
ed their ammunition entirely, and, finally, were called from 
the field to recuperate and obtain reenforcements. With this 
returning movement a counter movement was made by the 
charge of Smith's entire division upon the enemy's works. 
The charge was so furious as to bear all before it, and Smith's 
men occupied the entire works of the rebels on the left. 
Grant announced this to McClernand, ordering his advance. 
This was then made, in a brilliant manner, and the enemy 
was forced back within his works on the Federal right. Thus 
the Umon army found themselves in a position to carry the 
enemy's main work by assault, on the morning of Sundaj^ 

But, no such service was required of the elated and brave 
fellows whose achievements during the Saturday's contest cov- 
ered them with glory. At a very early hour General Simon 



OF THE WAR. 337 

Buckner, the senior rebel General in the fortification, sent out 
to obtain an armistice preliminary to arrangements of terms 
of honorable capitulation. Grant replied that noticing but 
unconditional and immediate surrender would answer — that 
he was prepared for the assault and should soon carry the 
works by the bayonet. Grumbling at the discourtesy (!) shown 
him, Buckner unconditionally surrendered with his force of 
nearly 15,000 men. 

Upon entering the preniises it w\as found that Generals Pil- 
low and Floyd, with their troops, had flown. During the 
night they had, at a council of war, declared their purpose to 
leave by the three steamers still at the landing above Dover. 
Pillow said he would not surrender — Floyd said it never icoidd 
do for 1dm to fall into Federal hands ; and so Buckner, the 
unfortunate ex-chief of the Kentuck}^ State Guard, was forced 
to do the deed — to give up his arms and submit to tlie tender 
mercies of the Government which he had betrayed. The 
flight of Floj^d and Pillow was the theme of much amusing 
comment bj^ the Northern forces. The escape of the great 
'' chief of thieves" was certainly greatly deplored, for if any 
rebel among the conspirators deserved the halter more than 
another, that man was John B. Floyd, Mr. Buchanan's Secre- 
tary of War.* 

The armament of the Fort and water batteries consisted of 
forty -four guns, most of them of superior make and heavy 
calibre. About 17,000 stand of small arms were taken, and 
an immense amount of stores — among which were twelve 
hundred boxes of beef, showing that the rebels had resolved 
to stand a siege before giving up. Floyd's and Pillow's men, 
in crossing the river, pitched all superfluous arms and baggage 
into the stream. A Louisiana cavalry company made its way, 
during the darkness, up the river, and thus escaped. Pillow 
and Floyd made direct for Clarksville. 

* This surrender M'as the occasion of a pretty sharp correspondence 
among tlie Confederates ; and Johnson had to '' explain" to his govern- 
ment. Buckner felt that he was made the scape-goat for greater rogues 
than himself. 

43 2d 



338 



INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 



The following table exhibits the losses of the Union regi- 
ments that were engaged in the battle 



Eighth Illinois . 
Ninth Illinois 
Eleventh Illinois 
Twelfth Illinois 
Seventeenth Illinois 
Eighteenth Illinois 
Twentieth Illinois 
Thirtieth Illinois 
Thirty-first Illinois 
Forty-first Illinois 
Forty-ninth Illinois 
Twelfth Iowa 
Second Iowa 
Fourteenth Iowa 
Fifty-eighth Ohio 
Taylor's Battery 



Ki 



lied. 
66 
36 
71 
35 
4 
45 
21 
19 
40 
17 
10 

o 
O 

38 
6 



Wounded. 

196 

160 

180 

109 

20 

60 

118 

71 

200 

130 

30 

24 

160 

50 

3 

4 



Total 401 1,515 

Prisoners taken ........ 250 

Making a total Union loss of 2,166. The rebel loss in kill- 
ed and wounded and prisoners is estimated at 15,700. 

As was expected these rapid strokes of the Union army as- 
tounded and disconcerted the enemy. His boasted strong- 
holds at Bowling Green and Columbus were quickly aban- 
doned ; Clarksville was soon deserted, and Nashville tempo- 
rarily occupied by the fast retreating rebels. But, the opera- 
tions of the gunboats on the Tennessee river promised to cut 
off retreat by the South, and Nashville was therefore soon 
given up without a struggle — the enemy falling back upon 
Murfresboro, then upon Chatanooga, and finally upon Corinth, 
where Johnson and Beauregard determined to await the shock 
of the combined Federal armies, and thus decide the fate of 
the Mississippi Valley. 



XXXIV. 



INCIDENTS OF THE BATTLE BEFORE FORT 
D ONELSON. 

The enemy's assault was in force upon tlie morning of 
Saturday. McClernand's division not only was the Federal 
weak point, but tlie ground was so contracted that but one 
regiment of the Unionists could be brought to bear on the 
assailed point As a consequence, the slaughter was fearful. 
But no troops ever fought with less idea of giving way. 

The first regiment to receive the enemy's onslaught, was the 
Eighteenth Illinois, Colonel Lawler, Oglesby's brigade. This 
regiment fought until their ammunition was all expended, 
when the Eighth Illinois walked into their places, commanded 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Frank L. Rhodes — Colonel Oglesby 
acting as commander of the First Brigade. The remaining 
re2;iments of the brigade rendered such assistance as the nature 
of the ground would admit. The Thirtieth Illinois, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel E. S. Dennis, commanding, supported Schwart's 
Missouri battery, posted on the right, and the Thirty -first 
Illinois, Colonel John A. Logan, supporting Dresser s Illinois 
battery, posted on the left of the brigade position. 

The enemy struck for the batteries, over which a most 
sanguinary struggle ensued. Every horse was killed at 
Schwartz's guns, and most of the artillerists. Logan's regi- 
ment defended the guns until it had lost the Colonel, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, acting-Major, seven Captains, and a proportionate 
number of lower grade officers and men, either killed or dis- 
abled I The battery was finally suiTounded, and Captain 



840 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

Cook drew off the skeleton of the fine res-iment — leavinar the 
guns in the enemy's hands. A reporter present wi-ote of that 
terrible struggle : 

" The Eighteenth regiment seems to have resisted the severest storm. 
Against their ranks the Rebels directed their heaviest fire, but instead 
of falling back they advanced to the very face of the enemy, and there 
stood in the very jaws of deatli, with scarcely a prospect that a single one 
would escape. 

"For three hours these regiments, numbering scarcely 3,000 men held 
their ground against the whole rebel garrison. At one time the Eighteenth 
being partially flanked, was exisosed to a cross-fire of both musketry and 
artillery, but our right wing, securing the rebels' left, at once relieved 
them. At this critical moment Colonel Lawler fell. Captain Bush, act- 
ing Lieutenant-Colonel, assumed command, but was soon wounded, 

" Captain Crane was shot dead, Captain Lawler was mortally wounded, 
Lieutenants Mansford and Thompson killed, Captains Dillon and Wilson 
and Lieutenants Kelly and Scanlon wounded, so that the daring Egyptian 
regiment stood before an overwhelming fire almost without ofllcers 
They fell in heaps dead and wounded. Companies were bereft of Cap- 
tains and Lieutenants, Captains almost bereft of Companies. 

" The three other regiments did their duty nobly. Colonels Oglesby, 
Marsh, and Logan dashed along the ranks, waving their hats and cheer- 
ing their men to the conflict. ' Suffer death, men,' cried Logan, ' but 
disgrace never. Stand firm,' and Avell they heeded him. Many fell 
dead and wounded. Among the latter were Colonel Logan and Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel "White. Oglesby's and Marsh's regiments fought desperately, 
losing like other regiments, an undue proportion of oflicers. 

" Colonel Oglesby displayed coolness and courage that have elicited 
the highest i^raise, and served well in stimulating his men. Never, per- 
haps, on the American Continent has a more bloody battle been fought. 
An officer who participated and was wounded in the fight, says : ' The 
scene beggars decription. So thickly was the battle-field strewn with 
bead and wounded, that he could have traversed acres of it, treading, at 
most every step, upon a prostrate body. ' 

" The rebels fought with desperation, their artillerists using their 
pieces with most fearfal eff"ect. On either side could be heard the 
voices of those in command cheering on their men. The four Illinoi? 
regiments held their ground full three hours. Nearly one third had been 
killed or wounded, yet the balance stood firm." 

But they had to give way before the tremendous odds pre- 
cipitated against them, composed of some of the choicest troops 



OF THE WAR. 341 

in tlie Confederate arm}^ Slowly the Unionists fell backward, 
the shattered regiments being covered by Colonel W. H. L. 
Wallace's brigade, composed of the Eleventh, Twentieth, 
Forty-fifth and Forty-eighth, commanded respectively by 
Lieutenant-Colonel Hart, and Colonels Marsh, Smith, and 
Ilaynie, and by Arthur's brigade. Colonel Croft's brigade, 
from General Lew Wallace's division, also went into the 
fight These united forces succeeded in staying the rebel 
advance — which really was an effort to turn the Federal right 
wing, and thus offer a means for the garrison's retreat 

The assault of the enemy's works on the Federal left by 
General Smith's division, as already stated, gave the Union 
forces the upper hand. It was a brilliantly conducted affair. 
General Lanman, with the Second Iowa, Fifty-second and 
Twenty-fifth Indiana, and Seventh Iowa, was commissioned 
to the work. These fine regiments advanced in solid column 
up to the enemy's outer line of defences, when they broke 
column, and with a j-ell leaped into the rebel rifle-pits. The 
contest was brief, but bloodj^ The enemy flew to the second 
line of defences, dreadfully cut to pieces by the fire of the four 
regiments, which had been reserved. Lanman was accom- 
panied by General Smith in person, whose invincible coui'age 
made heroes of his men. 

The correspondence between Buckner and Grant was rather 
bumorous than otherwise. It read as follows : 

" Heabquakters, Fort Donelson, Feb. 18, 1862. 
"Sir — In consideration of all the circumt^tauces governing the present situation 
of affairs at this station, I propose to the commanding officer of the Federal forces, 
the appointment of Commissioners to argue upon terras of capitulation of the 
forces at this post under my command. In tliat view I suggest an armistice until 
twelve o'clock to-day. 

" I am, very respectfully. 

" Your obedient servant, 

" S. B. BUCKNER, 
" Brigadier-General, C.S. A." 
" To Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, commanding United 
States forces, near Fort Donelson. 



2d2 



842 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

" Headquarteks on the Field, Fokt Donelson, Feb. 16, 1S62. 
" To General S. B. Buckner : 

" Sir — Yours of this date, proposing an armistice and the appointment of Com- 
missioners to settle on the terms of capitulation, is just received. 
" No terms, except unconditional and immediate surrender, can be accepted. 
" I propose to move immediately on your works. 

" I am very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" U. S. GEANT, 
" Brigadier-General Commanding." 
" Headquarters, Dover, Tenn., Feb. 16, 1802. 
" Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, U. S. A. 

" Sir — The distribution of the forces under my command, incident to an unex- 
pected change of commanders, and the overwhelming force under your comn)and, 
compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Confederate arms, to 
accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which you propose. 

" I am, sir, your servant, 

" S. B. BUCKNER, 
" Brigadier-General, C. S. A." 

" Ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which you propose ! " 
Injured gentleman t He doubtless expected to have General 
Grant give him a horse and escort to the nearest rebel strong- 
hold — to have his men supplied with a half-eagle each and 
rations for three days, with sundry other comforts, to enable 
them to fight somewhere else ! It took a good many reverses 
to teach the insolent, unprincipled, and ungenerous men, who 
wore Confederate epaulettes, that the North and Northern 
soldiers were no longer their humble servants, but their 
superiors in good manners as well as in arms. 

We should not omit the following good thing which eman- 
ated from the Frankfort (Ky.) Covfimonwealth, in view of the 
rather dubious character of the Southern conquests on Ken- 
tucky soil : 

" My Dear Rebs : I now take my pen in hand for the purpose of 
hohling communion Avitli j'ou through tlie silent medium of pen and 
paper. I have just learned that the lines are now open as for as Fort 
Donelson, in Tennessee, and I avail myself, with alacrity, of the oppor- 
tunity now presented of resuming our correspondence. Your many 
friends in this section, would like to be informed on various topics — for 
instance : 

" How are you, any how ? 

" How does ' dying in the last ditch,' agree with your general health ? 

" How is the ' Constitution' down your way ? 



OFTHEWAR. 343 

" Do you tbink there is any Government ? 

" How is ' King Kotting ? ' 

" Is Yancey well, and able to eat his oats ? 

" When will Buckner take his Christmas dinner in Louisville ? 

" Is Lloyd Tilghman still hanging Union men in the first district ? 

" Is Floyd still ' rifling ' cannon and other small arms ? 

" How is Pillow's ' last ditch,' and when will he gratify his numerous 
friends by ' dying' in the same ? 

" How is the ' Southern heart ? ' 

" Are you still able to whip five to one ? 

" What is your oi^inion of the Dutch race ? 

" Did the recognition of the S. Confed. by England and France 
benefit you much ? 

" Where is tlie ' Provisional Government' of Kentucky, and what is 
it kept in ? 

" Where is the Louisville- Nashville-Bowling Green-Courier now pub- 
lished ? Say ! 

" And lastly, what do you think of yourselves any how ? 

" A prompt answer will relieve many anxious hearts. 

" Yours in a horn, A LINCOLN MAN. 

" United States. Feb. 18th, 1863." 



THE BATTLE OF PITTSBURGH LANDING. 

Pressed out of Kentucky by tlie flank movements up the 
Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, tlie rebels fell back upon 
Clarksville, deserting their boasted stronghold at Bowling 
Green, and, soon after, their reputed "Gibraltar," at Columbus 
— all without a musket being fired against them. The fall of 
Donelson compelled Johnston to recede to Nashville ; and, from 
thence, to the South, as rapidly as was consistent with the 
Southern idea of "retiring." Buell came down with his well- 
organized divisions, occupying Nashville, and preparing to 



84-i INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

move from thence down upon the enemy, wherever he was to 
he found. Thomas' fine division was recalled from its work 
upon East Tennessee (alas for it !) and Mitchell was drawn 
from Bowling Green. Andrew Johnson was instated as Mili- 
tary Governor of Tennessee. Grant moved forward from 
Donelson direct to the South, by the Tennessee river, design- 
ing to strike into Northern Alabama and Mississippi, and break 
the railroad connections with Memphis and the East. This 
would flank and turn Memphis, compelling its evacuation, 
while the very centres of the Cotton States would be open to 
invasion. 

In order to counteract this invasion, which promised to 
swoop up the Confederacy with a grand completeness, the 
rebels bent their whole energies to oppose the progress of the 
Federal army. General A. Sidney Johnston, as Commander- 
in-Chief, and Beauregard, as second in command, called to 
their aid the redoubtable General Bragg, with his well-drilled 
army, from Pensacola ; Price and Van Dorn, with their Avild 
brigades from Arkansas and Texas ; Brecken ridge, with his 
well-ordered brigades of recusant Tennesseans and Kentuck- 
ians ; Pillow and Floyd with their forces of Mississippians and 
Virginians; Cheatham and the Reverend General Polk, with 
their well-drilled brigades from the line of the Mississippi. 
Hardee, Hindman, and others, were also detailed to the rebel 
lines, which were centered around Corinth, Mississippi. To 
fill up the ranks to a number equal to the work in hand of 
staying the Federal progress, a conscription was enforced, by 
which great numbers of those who had not borne arms against 
the Union, were forced into the service. Corinth was fortified. 
Memphis was strengthened by the strengthening of the de- 
fences above it. Every appearance seemed to indicate that 
the decisive struggle for the possession of the Mississippi 
Valley was at hand. 

The Federal Government appreciating the greatness of the 
etoergency, prepared for it by ordering Buell to join Grant at 
Savannah, thence to move direct against Corinth, while the 
indefatigable Mitchell " sky-rocketted" down upon Iluntsville, 



OF THE WAR. 845 

Decatur, etc., to cut off the railway and river communication 
with the East. Ilalleck was given the command in chief of 
the combined forces — thus to bring all the Federal military 
resources in the West to the work in hand. 

It was not until late in March that Buell's divisions began 
to move out of Nashville toward Savannah and Pittsburgh 
Landing, on the Tennessee river — there to join Grant's forces, 
already on the ground, for the advance against Corinth. 
Buell's forces consisted of the superblj'-equipped divisions of 
Nelson, Thomas, Wood, McCook, Negeley and Crittenden — 
Mitchell going South toward Huntsville, by way of Muifrees- 
boro' and Fayetteville. Grant's forces com])rised the divisions 
of i^lcClernand, Lew Wallace, W. IL L. AVallace, Prentiss, 
Hurlburt, and W. T. Sherman, with most am})le equipments, 
artillery, etc. All of these forces were Western men — there 
being not a single regiment in that combined army from East 
of the Alleghanics. 

To prevent the unity of the forces of Grant and Buell was 
the suddenly conceived design of Johnston. With the usual 
success, the rebel commander ascertained the plans and dispo- 
sition of the Federals, and prepared to strike a blow at once 
on Grant's divisions, advanced to Pittsburgh Landing and 
located in a semi-circle around the landing, as a centre. If 
Grant could be beaten back before Buell could reinforce him, 
the rebels were sure of being able then to overmatch Buell ; 
and, if he was forced back, the way was again opened to 
recover the ground lost in Tennessee and Kentucky. Immense 
forces, a steady hand, a daring will might accomplish all, and 
these Johnston had. 

Grant, advancing his forces over the Tennessee, only 
awaited the coming up of Buell's divisions to assail the enemy 
intrenched at Corinth. Sherman's division had the extreme 
advance, left wing, supported by General Prentiss ; McCler- 
nand held the left centre ; W. 11. L. Wallace (commanding 
General Smith's forces) held the left right ; Hurlburt's fine 
brigades formed the reserve ; General Lew AVallace's division 



846 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

was Stationed at Crump's Landing, forming tlie Federal ex- 
treme right wing. 

The sicirmishes of Friday and Saturda)^ (April 4th and 5th) 
chiefly with tlie enemy's cavalry, kept Slierman's men on the 
alert. Friday the Federal pickets were driven in on the main 
line of the division, with a loss of one Lieutenant and seven 
men, when Sherman ordered a charge. The rebel cavalry 
were, in turn, driven five miles, with no small loss. Saturday 
the rebels again made a bold push at the lines, in considerable 
force, and retired after a warm reception. These advances 
were but reconnoissances to test the Federal spirit and to locate 
his lines. 

The pickets were again driven in at an early hour on the 
morning of Sunday (April 6th) — a day the rebels always 
seemed to choose for fight when the choice lay with them. 
Sherman immediately ordered his entire division to arms, as, 
also, did Prentiss his division — both commanders, it is ascer- 
tained, being suspicious of the impending attempt of the 
enemy, in force. The troops stood under arms for an hour, 
when, no heavy firing occurring, the General and his staff rode 
to the front. The enemy's sharpshooters picked off' Sherman's 
orderly, standing near the General. This shot, and others 
which rapidly followed, came from a thicket lining a small 
stream, flowing north into the Tennessee. Alone^ this stream 
Sherman's line was stretched. Sherman observed that, in the 
valley before him, the enemy was forming. He said, in his 
report : 

" About eight A. M., I saw the glistening bayonets of heavy 
masses of infantry to our left front, in the woods beyond the 
small stream alluded to, and became satisfied for the first time 
that the enemy designed a determined attack on our whole 
camp. All the regiments of my division were then in line of 
battle at their proper posts. I rode to Colonel Appier and 
ordered him to hold his ground at all hazards, as he held the 
left flank of our first line of battle, and I informed him that he 
L.ad a good battery on his right and strong supports to his 



OF THE TTAR. 817 

rear. General McClernand had promptly and energetically 
responded to my request, and had sent me three regiments 
which were posted to protect Waterhouse's battery and the 
left flank of my line." 

This shows that there was no surprise. McClernand Avas 
informed, as early as half-past six, of the enemy's presence, 
and had placed his troops in order of battle. The same with 
Prentiss and Hurlburt — both of whom were ready before the 
assault on Sherman's front. 

It would be impossible, in the space of even a lengthy chap- 
ter, to detail the movements and events which followed on 
that most momentous day. A book alone would suffice to tell 
the story in detail.* The first news dispatched of the battles 
which reached the North, gave a graphic, and, in the main, 
a correct description of the two days' struggle. It, we may 

quote : 

" PiTTSBTJKG, via FoRT Hekry, April 9th, 3:20 A. M. 

" One of tlie greatest and bloodiest battles of modern days has just 
closed, resulting in the complete rout of the enemy, -who attacked us at 
daybreak, Sunday morning. 

" The battle lasted without intermission during the entire day, and 
was again renewed on Monday monnng, and continued undecided 
until four o'clock in the afternoon, when the enemy commenced their 
retreat, and are still flying toward Corinth, pursued by a large force of 
our cavalry. 

" The slaughter on both sides is immense. 

" The fight was brought on by a body of three hundred of the Twen- 
ty-fifth Missouri regiment, of General Prentiss' division, attacking the 
advance guard of the rebels, which were supposed to be the pickets of 
the enemy, in front of our camps. The rebels immediately advanced 
on General Prentiss' division on the left wing,t pouring volley after 
volley of musketry, and riddling our camps with grape, canister and 
shell. Our forces soon formed into line, and returned their fire vigo- 



* See " Pittsburgh Landing and the Investment of Corinth," in 
Beadle's series of " American Battles," — where a 12mo. of 100 pages, is 
devoted to the subject. 

t This account, in common with most all others made by newspaper 
reporters, was incorrect in the particulars of the enemy's first advance. 
The reader will find the correct statement of the first assault given in 
our own version above. 



848 > INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

rously ; but by the time we were iDrepared to receive tliem, tliey had 
turned their heaviest fire on the left center, Sherman's division, and 
drove our men back from their camps, and bringing up a fresh force, 
opened iire on our left wing, under General McClernand. This fire was 
returned with terrible effect and determined spirit ))y both infantry and 
artillery along the whole line, for a distance of over four miles. 

" General Hurlburt's division was thrown forward to support the 
center, when a desperate conflict ensued. The rebels were driven back 
with terrible slaughter, but soon rallied and drove back our men in 
turn. From about nine o'clock, the time your correspondent arrived 
on the field, until night closed on the bloody scene, there was no deter- 
mination of the result of the struggle. The rebel regiments exhibited 
remarkably good generalshij). At times engaging the left with appa- 
rently their whole strength, they would suddenly ojjen a terrible and 
destructive fire on the light or centei*. Even our heaviest and most 
destructive fire upon the enemy did not appear to discourage their 
solid columns. The fire of Major Taylor's Chicago artillery raked them 
down in scores, but the smoke would no sooner be dispersed than the 
breach would again be filled. 

" The most desperate fighting took place late in the afternoon. The 
rebels knew that if they did not succeed in whipping us tlien, that their 
chances for success would be extremely doubtful, as a portion of General 
Buell's forces had by this time arrived on the opposite side of the river, 
and another portion was coming up the river from Savannah. They be- 
came aware that we were being reenforced, as they could see General 
Buell's troops from the river-bank, a short distance above us on the left, 
to which point they had forced their way. 

" At five o' clock the rebels had forced our left wing back so as to oc- 
cupy fully two-thirds of our camp, and were fighting their way forward 
Avith a desperate degree of confidence in their efforts to drive us into the 
river, and at the same time heavily engaged our right. 

" Up to this time we had received no reenforcements. General Lew. 
Wallace failed to come to our support until the day was over, having 
taken the wrong road from Crump's Lauding, and being without other 
transports than those used for Quartermasters' and Commissary stores, 
which were too heavily laden to ferry any considerable number of General 
Buell's forces across the river, those that were here having been sent to 
bring up the troops from Savannah. "We were, therefore, contesting 
against fearful odds, our force not exceeding thirty-eight thousand men, 
while that of the enemy was upward of sixty thousand. 

" Our condition at this moment was extremely critical. Large num- 
bers of men panic-stricken, others worn out by hard fighting, with the 
average percentage of skulkers, had struggled toward the river, and could 



OF THE W A E , 849 

not be rallied. General Grant and staff, who had been recklessly ridhig 
along the lines during the entire day, amid the unceasing storm of bullets, 
grape Und shell, now rode from right to left, inciting the men to stand 
firm until our reenforccments could cross the river. 

" Colonel Webster, Chief of staff, immediately got into position the 
heaviest pieces of artillery, pointing on the enemy's right, while a large 
number of the batteries were planted along the entire line, from the 
river-bank north-west to our extreme right, some two and a half miles 
distant. About an hour before dusk a general cannonading was open- 
ed upon the enemy from along our whole line, with a perpetual crack of 
musketry. Such a roar of artillery was never heard on this continent. 
For a short time the rebels replied with vigor and effect, but their 
return shots grew less frequent and destructive, while ours grew more 
rapid and more terrible. 

" The gunboats Lexington and Tyler, which lay a short distance off, kept 
raining shell on the rebel hordes. This last effort was too much for the 
enemy, and, ere dusk had set in, the firing had nearly ceased, when 
night coming on all the combatants rested from their awful work of 
blood and carnage." 

Then followed a, list of the leading officers known to have 
been killed or wounded. It was meager, but gave names 
enough to plunge the country into mourning. Over Congress 
it threw a shadow which was betokened by the silence reign- 
irig in the halls after the news was received. That splendid 
army of the Union comprised some of the country's bravest 
spirits among its com.mauders, and all dreaded to read the lists 
which were hourly looked for after the receipt of the first 
news. The dispatch added : " There has never been a parallel 
to the gallantry and bearing of our officers, from the com- 
manding General to the lowest officer. General Grant and 
staff were in the field, riding along the lines in the thickest of 
the enemy's fire during the entire two days of the battle, and 
all slept on the ground Sunday night, during a heavy rain. 
On several occasions General Grant got within range of the 
enemy's guns, and w^as discovered and fired upon. Lieutenant- 
Colonel McPherson had his horse shot from under him when 
alongside of General Grant. General Sherman had two horses 
killed under him, and General McClernand shared like dan- 
gers ; also General Hurlburt, each of whom received bullet- 
2e 



350 TXCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

holes tlirougli their clothes. General Buell remained with his 
troops during the entire second day, and with General Critten- 
den and General Nelson, rode continually along the lines en- 
couraging the men." 

This refers specially to the first day's battle which closed, 
leaving the enemy in the camps held in the morning by the 
Federal troops. No wonder that Beauregard — Johnston being 
among the enemy's fearful list of slain — telegraphed a victory 
to the Confederate arms. To have given the Federal advance 
a staggering blow — to be permitted to feast his half-fed troops 
on Federal rations, and to rest their dirty limbs on Federal 
blankets, in Federal tents, was indeed a victory for them, even 
if the morrow should find them hurled back in confusion 
upon their intrenchments and reserves at Corinth.* 

The second day redeemed the disasters of the first. Buell's 
forces were marching in divisions, six miles apart. The ad- 
vance (Nelson's brigades) I'eached Savannah on the 5th. 
There Buell arrived in person, on the evening of the same 
day. Crittenden's division came in during the evening. 
Hearing the terrific cannonading, Buell surmised its meaning 
and ordered forward Nelson's division at a quick march, with- 
out its train. Ammen's brigade arrived at the opportune mo- 
ment, when Grant's forces were being slowly but surely press- 
ed to the river's bank after their whole day's struggle. The 
fresh brigades immediately crossed and walked to the front. 
This arrival gave the wearied men fresh heart, and caused the 
enemy to fall back. The residue of Nelson's division came 
up and crossed the ferry early in the evening. Crittenden's 
division came on by steamers from Savannah. The batteries 
of Captains Mendenhall and Terrell, of the regular service, 
and Bartlett's Ohio battery, also came up. McCook's division, 
by a forced march, arrived at Savannah during the night of 
the 6th, and pushing on immediately, reached the Landing 
early on the morning of the 7th. 

* As one of the " humors of the campaign," we may mention that the 
Memphis Appeal charged tlie Monday's defeat of the rebels to the whis- 
Icey found, tJie night before, in the Federal tents ! 



OF THE "WAR. 851 

Buell's divisions, taking the Federal left wing, opened the 
day's work, soon after five o'clock, when Nelson's division 
moved forward upon the enemy's pickets, driving them in. 
Tlie rebel artillery opened at six o'clock on Nelson's lines. 

Grant gave the right Federal wing to General Lew Wallace's 
fine division of fresh men, which had arrived at eight o'clock 
on the evening of Sunday. Sherman's broken brigades again 
assumed the field, taking position next to Wallace. On the 
right the attack commenced early after daybreak, by Thomp- 
son's artillery, which opened on a rebel battery occupying a 
bluff to the front and right of Wallace's First brigade. 

The battle soon became general. The enemy, during the 
night, had been reenforced to the utmost extent consistent 
with the safety of his defenses at Corinth, and was, therefore, 
prepared for a desperate conflict. It was evident, from his 
fighting that, if victory was won by the Union army, it must 
be at a fearful loss of life. But, the Federals — officers and 
men — were resolved upon victory even at a sacrifice of half 
their numbers, and they went into the fight with astonishing 
alacrity. 

Wallace's position on the extreme right was one of great 
responsibility. But, he was the right man in the right place. 
He had for his coadjutor the really unconquerable Sherman, 
whose skeleton of a division w^as then as ready for the fray as 
if over one half of its numbers was not able to answer the 
roll call. Observing that his right was well protected by an 
impassable swamp formed by a creek, (Snake,) and discover- 
ing that the rebel left was open for a demonstration, Wallace 
determined to press it, if possible turn it. For that purpose, 
he stated in his report : " It became necessary for me to 
change front by a left half- wheel of the whole division. While 
the movement was in progress, across a road through the 
w^oods at the southern end of the field we were resting hj, I 
discovered a heavy column of rebels going rapidly to reen- 
force their left, which was still retiring, covered by skirmish- 
ers, with whom mine were engaged. Thompson's battsry was 
ordered up and shelled the passing column with excellent 



852 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

efFect, but ^Yhilc so engaged he was opened on by a full bat- 
tery planted in the field jnst beyond the strip of woods on the 
right. He promptly turned his guns at the new encm3\ A 
fine artillery duel ensued, very honorable to Thompson and 
his company. His ammunition giving out in the midst of it, 
I ordered him to retire, and Lieutenant Thurber to take his 
place. Thurber obeyed with such alacrity, that there was 
scarcely an intermission in the fire, which continued so long 
and with such warmth as to provoke the attempt on the part 
of the rebels to charge the position. Discovering the inten- , 
tion, the First brigade was brought across the field to occupy 
the strip of woods in fi-ont of Thurber. The cavalry made the 
first dash at the battery, but the skirmishers of the Ninth 
Missouri poured an unexpected fire into them, and they retired 
pell-mell. Next the infantry attempted a charge ; the First 
brigade easily repelled them. All this time my whole divi- 
sion was under a furious cannonade, but being well masked 
behind the bluff, or resting in the hollows of the woods, the 
regiments suffered but little." 

This affair only staj^ed the advance for a brief period. The 
cleared field in front was intersected by a willow-fringed 
stream. Over this the First and Second brigades now pressed. 
The skirmishers in action all the way cleared the rise, and 
grouped themselves behind the ground-swells within seventy- 
five yards of the rebel lines. As the regiments approached 
them, suddenly a sheet of musketry blazed from the woods, 
and a battery opened upon them. About the same instant, 
the regiments supporting his left fell hastily back. To save 
his flank a halt was ordered. The wavering battalions soon 
recovered, when the two brigades pressed on with fixed bayo- 
nets. The rebels fell back into the woods, thus abandoning 
their first positions, which the Federals now held. 

Fortune, however, wavered for a moment on the left of 
Wallace's well won position, Sherman advanced under cover 
of the three guns of the Chicago Light artillerj^, (Company A, 
Lieutenant P. P. Wood commanding,) until the line of McCler- 
nund's old camp was gained, on the Corinth road. There he 



OF THE W A n . 853 

first met Biiell's column of veterans — such troops as only a 
military commander of the truest instincts can produce. Their 
steadiness and precision inspired the new recruits of Sherman's 
brigades with great confidence and enthusiasm. AViliich's 
famous regiment advanced upon the enemy lurking, in heavy 
force, in a thicket of water-oaks. The reception by the enemy 
compelled even the invincible Indiana Thirty-second to retire 
before it. The fire of musketry was iDcrfectly astounding, 
and Colonel Willich came from the wood with sadlj^ riddled 
ranks. It was evident that there was to be the great struggle 
of the day. Into the thicket, to support Buell's foi'ces, SLier- 
man now led his men. He says : " The enemy had one bat- 
tery close to Shiloh, and another near tlie Ilan^burg road, both 
pouring gra])e and canister upon my column of troops that 
advanced upon the green point of water-oaks. Willich's regi- 
ment had been repulsed, but a whole brigade of McCook's 
division advanced beautiful!}^, deployed and entered this 
dreaded wood. I ordered my Second brigade, then com- 
manded by Colonel T. Kilby Smith, (Colonel Stuart being 
wounded,) to form on its right, and my Fourth brigade, Coh)nel 
Buckland, on its left, all to advance abreast, with the Ken- 
tucky brigade before mentioned, (Rosseau's.) I gave personal 
direction to the twenty-four-pounder guns, whose fire soon 
silenced the enemy's guns to the left, and at the Shiloh meet- 
ing House. Eosseau's brigade moved in splendid order stea- 
dily to the front, sweeping everything before it, and at four 
P. AL stood upon the ground of our original front line. The 
enemy was then in full retreat." 

This states a splendid achievement in very modest terms. 
It was one of the m.ost severe and hotly contested sections of 
the field, v-^here Beauregard commanded in person and was 
supported by the divisions of Bragg, Polk and Bi'eckenridge. 

Thus far for the fortunes of the Fcdei'al right. The center, 
under McClernand's command, was engaged from the first 
moment with great obstinacy. Finding Buell gaining ground 
on the left, while the right was slowly advancing, the enemy 
threw his greatest strength in several assaults upon the center, 
45 2e2 



8;>1 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

hoping to force it and thus retrieve the day. But McCler- 
nand's men were invincible. Hurlburt's somewhat thinned, 
but still resolute ranks moved up to his support, taking his 
left. There the obstinacy of the fight, at times, was not paral- 
leled on the field. The two contestants seemed equally 
resolved not to yield a rood of ground. One who was present, 
on this portion of the field, wrote : 

" It now became evident that the rebels were avoiding the extreme 
of the left wing, and endeavoring to find some Aveak point in the lines 
by which to turn our force, and thus create an irrevocable confusion. 
It is wonderful with what perseverance and determination they adhered 
to this purpose. They left one point but to return to it immediately, 
and then as suddenly would, by some masterly stroke of generalship, 
direct a most vigorous assault uj^on some division where they fancied 
they would not be expected. The fire of our lines was steady as clock- 
work, and it soon became evident that the enemy almost considered tlie 
task they had undertaken a hopeless one. Notwithstanding the con- 
tinued rebulF of the rebels wherever they had made their assaults, up 
to two o'clock they had given no evidence of retiring from the <field. 
Their firing had been as rajjid and vigorous at times as during the 
most terril)le hours of the previous day, yet not so well confined to one 
point of attack." 

Hurlburt's forces, Second and Third brigades, were also 
doing great service in another part of the field, on the left, 
where, by their undaunted bravery, they contributed to the 
complete success of the day. Hurlbitrt thus chronicled the 
doings of his brigades : 

" The Second brigade led the charge ordered by General Grant until 
recalled by Major-General Buell. The Third brigade w^as deeply and 
fiercely engaged on the right of General McClernand, successfully stop- 
ping a movement to flank his right, and holding their ground until 
the firing ceased. About one o'clock of that day, (Monday,) General 
McCook having closed up with General McClernand, and the enemy 
demonstrating in great force on the left, I went, by the request of Gen- 
eral McClernand, to the rear of his line to bring up fresh troops, and 
Avas engaged in pressing them forward until the steady advance of 
General Buell on the extreme left, the firmness of the center, and the 
closing in from the right of Generals Sherman and Wallace determined 
the success of the day, when I called in my exhausted brigades, and led 
them to their camps. The ground was such on Sunday that I was un- 
able to use cavalry. Colonel Taylor's Fifth Ohio cavalry was drawn 



OF THE WAR. 855 

up in order of battle until near one o'clock in the hope that some open- 
ing might oiFer for the use of this arm. None appearing, I ordered the 
command to be withdrawn from the reach of shot." 

"Wcallace, after having forced the rebels back into their 
centre, pushed in upon them again by an oblique movement 
1'his exposed his right flank, temporarily, when the Confeder- 
ates suddenly threw their cavalry upon the right. The Twenty- 
third Indiana and one company of the First Nebraska, kept 
the enemy at bay until reserves came up, when a most obsti- 
nate conflict followed, and the rebels, bringing six or seven 
regiments immediately forward — their aim being to ciit 
Wallace ofF from the army line, and thus "bag him,"' as Pren- 
tiss was bagged the day previous. As an evidence of fighting 
done there, we may recur to tlie words of the General : 

" Pending this struggle, Colonel Thayer pushed on his command, and 
entered the woods, assaulting the enemy simultaneously with Colonel 
Smith. Here the Fifty-eighth Ohio and Twenty-third Indiana proved 
themselves fit comrades in battle with the noble Nebraska First. Here 
also the Seventy-sixth Ohio won a brilliant fame. The First Nebraska 
fired away its last cartridge in the action. At a word the Seventy-sixth 
Ohio rushed in and took its place. Off to the right, in the meanwhile, 
arose the music of the Twentieth and Seventy-eighth Ohio, fighting 
gallantly in support of Thurbcr, to whom the sound of rebel cannon 
seemed a challenge no sooner heard than accepted. 

-' From the time the wood was entered, forward was the only order. 
And step by step, from tree to tree, position to position, the rebel lines 
went back, never stopping again — infantry, horse and artillery, all went 
back. The firing was grand and terrible. Before us Avas the Crescent 
regiment of New Orleans ; shelling us on the right was the Washington 
Artillery, of Manassas renown, whose last stand was in front of Colonel 
Whittlesey's command. To and fro, now in my front, then in Sher- 
man's, rode General Beauregard, inciting his troops, and fighting for 
his fading prestige of invincibility. The desperation of the struggle 
may be easily imagined. 

" While this was in progress, far along the lines to the left the con- 
test was raging with equal obstinacy. As indicated by the sounds, 
however, the enemy seemed retiring everywhere. Cheer after cheer 
rung through the woods. Each man felt the day was ours. 

*' About four o'clock, the enemy to my front broke into rout, and ran 
through the camps occupied by General Sherman on Sunday morning. 
Their own camp had been established about two miles beyond. There, 



856 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

w-itliout halting, they fired tents, stores, etc. Throwing out the ■wound- 
ed, they filled their wagons full of arms, (Springfield muskets and En- 
field rifles,) ingloriously thrown away l^y some of our troops the day 
before, and hurried on. After following them until nearly nightfall, I 
bi'ought my division back to Owl Creek, and bivouacked it." 

Buell, with Nelson's and Crittenden's divisions, pressed 
into the enemy's right as obstinately as Wallace had pressed 
their extreme left. Buell thus briefly states the important 
services of his command : 

"Ammcn's brigade, which was on the left, advanced in good order 
upon the enemy's right, but was checked for some time by his endeavor 
to turn our left flank, and by his strong center attack in front. Cap- 
tain Terrell, who, in the mean time, had taken an advanced position, 
was compelled to retire, leaving one caisson, of which every horse was 
killed or wounded. It was very soon recovered. Having been rcen- 
forced by a regiment from General Boyle's brigade, Nelson's division 
again moved forward, and forced the enemy to abandon entirely his 
position. This success flanked the enemy at Lis second and third bat- 
teries, from which he was soon driven, with the loss of several ' pieces 
of artillery by the concentrated fire of Terrell's and Mendenhall's bat- 
teries, and an attack from Crittenden's division in front. The enemy 
made a second stand some eight hundred yards in rear of this position, 
and opened fire with his artillery. ^Mendenhall's battery was thrown 
forward, silenced the battery, and it was captured by Crittenden's divi- 
sion, the enemy retreating from it. In the mean time, the division of 
General McCook on the right, which became engaged somewhat later 
in the morning than the division on the left, had made steady progress, 
until it drove the enemy's left from the hotly-contested field. Tlic 
action was commenced in this division by General Rosseau's brigade, 
which drove the enemy in front of it from his first position, and cap- 
tured a battery. The line of attack of this division caused a consider- 
able widening of the space Ijetween it and Crittenden's right. It was 
also outflanked on its right by the line of the enemy, who made rei)eat- 
ed strong attacks on its flanks, but was always gallantly repulsed. The 
enemy made his last decided stand in front of this division, in the 
woods beyond Sherman's camj)." 

Johnston having been killed, Beauregard was in chief com- 
mand. Everywhere along his lines rode that leader, striving 
by appeal, command, exposure of his own person, to arrest the 



OFTHEWAR. 357 

tide of defeat, but to no purpose.* The steady flank advances 
of the Federal wings — the solidity of their centre, rendered it 
necessary to "retire," if he would not be cut olf entirely from 
retreat. His baffled and somewhat dispirited brigades fell 
back slowly, gathering, in good order, in upon the Corinth 
road, which, in all the fortunes of the two da^^'s fight, liad been 
carefully secured from any approach of the Unionists. The 
retreat has been described as a rout, but such it was not to any 
great degree. Some regiments threw away their arms, blan- 
kets, etc., from exhaustion, and a reckless disregard of orders; 
while the great numbers of killed, wounded and exhausted, so 
absorbed even the ti-ansport wagons, as to compel the enemy 
to leave behind much of his camp equipage and some of his 
guns. 

The pursuit was feeble. The nature of the woods restrained 
the cavalry in their movements, and rendered them compara- 
tively useless. Three thousand finely-mounted fellows had 
waited, for two da3-s, an opportunity to ride into the conflict ; 
and the order, late in the day of Monday, to pursue and harass 
the enemy, gave them but a brief service. The infantry 
pushed forward only for a mile or two. Colonel Wagner's 
brigade of General Wood's division, arrived late in the day, 
and was given the order to advance to the front for the pur- 
suit ; but Buell knew so little of the topography of the country 
that he considered it hazardous to penetrate too far into the 
enemy's midst. This neglect to press the retreating foe gave 

* To show what importance Johnston attached to the impending 
battle, we may quote from his address to his army, dated Ajjril 3d : 

" Soldiers : I have put you in motion to ofi'er battle to the invaders 
of your country, with the resolution, discipline and valor becoming men 
fighting, as you are, for all worth living and dying for. You can but 
march to a decided victory over agrarian mercenaries^ sent to subjugate 
you and to despoil you of your liberties, i^roperty and honor. 

'* Remember the precious stake involved ! Remember the depen- 
dence of your mothers, your wives, your sisters and your children on the 
result ! Remember the fair, broad, abounding lands, the happy homes 
that will be desolated by your defeat ! The eyes and hopes of eight mil- 
lions of people rest upon you !" etc., etc. 



358 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

them the poor consolation of pronouncing their effort to stay 
the Federal advance a success, and thereupon a victorj. The 
press of the South quite generally heralded it as a great 
triumph for the Confederates ! They needed some crumb of 
comfort to console them for the loss of Island No. 10, which 
General Pope's masterly strategy and Commodore Foote's 
" irrepressible" guns gave to the Federal arms, with all its gar- 
rison, armaments, stores, etc., on the morning of the 8th of 
April 



XXXVI 



INCIDENTS OF THE PITTSBURGH LANDING 
BATTLE. 

The field was strewn with the wounded and the dead. No 
time offered for the wounded to be cared for by their fellows, 
though, on the second day, as the Unionists advanced, the 
surgeons came on and did their duty manfully and well. 
Friend and foe were treated alike. Captain Jackson, of Gen- 
eral Grant's staff, wrote : " The field presented a sorry spectacle. 
It extended over a distance of five miles in length and three- 
quarters of a mile in width. This space was fought over 
twice, in regular battle-array, and many times in the fluctuat- 
ing fortunes of the different portions of the two armies. It 
was covered with dead and wounded. Where the artillery 
had taken effect, men lay in heaps, covering rods of ground, 
mingled in wild masses of mangled horses, broken gun-carriages 
and all the dread debris of a battle-field. Where our men had 
made their desperate charges, the bodies lay in rows as they 
had received the bayonet, constituting, at particular points. 



OF THE WAR. 359 

parapets of flesh and blood, over whicla a battle might liave 
been fought, as over a breast-work. Not a tree or a sapling in 
that whole space which was not pierced through and through 
with cannon-shot and musket-balls, and, if we may believe the 
accounts, there was scarcely a rod of ground on the five miles 
which did not have a dead or wounded man upon it" 

The struggle was of that character which made men forget- 
ful of self Every man seemed infused with only one thought, 
to kill as many as possible. One who was on the ground 
wrote of this obstinacy of both parties : 

" On Sunday, especially, several portions of the ground were fought 
over three and four times, and the two lines swayed backward and for- 
ward, like advancing and retreating waves. In repeated instances, 
rebel and Union soldiers, protected by the trees, were within thirty feet 
of each other. The rebels derisively shouted ' Bull Run,' -and our men 
returned the taunt by crying ' Donelson.' Many of the camps, as they 
were lost and Avon, lost again, and retaken, received showers of balls. 
At the close of the fight. General McClernand's tent contained twenty- 
seven Imllet-holes, and his Adjutant's thirty-tw^o. Chairs, tables, mess- 
pans, camp-kettles, and other articles of camp furniture were riddled. 
In the Adjutant's tent, when our forces recaptured it, the body of a 
rebel was found in a sitting i^ofition. He had evidently stopjjed for a 
moment's rest, when a ball struck and killed him. In one tree I have 
counted sixty bullet-holes. Another tree, not more than eighteen inches 
in diameter, which was in front of Genertil Lew Wallace's division, bears 
the mark of more than ninety balls, within ten feet of the ground. On 
Sunday, Company A, of the Forty-ninth Illinois, lost from one volley 
twenty-nine men, including three officers ; and, on Monday morning, 
the company appeared on the ground commanded by a Second Sergeant. 
General McClernand's Third Brigade, which was led by Colonel Raith, 
until he was mortally wounded, changed commanders three times dur- 
ing the battle. On Monday morning, one of General Hurlbnrt's rcgi 
ments (the Third Iowa) Avas commanded by a First Lieutenant, and 
others were in command of Captains." 

Such statements would be discredited were they not con- 
firmed by those of other writers who have visited the field. 
They serve to prove how appalling must have been the slaugh- 
ter, and yet out of the awful picture how the one gi'eat fact 
stands forth in a halo of glory — that of the coui-age of the 
Northern men ! Such courage has its elements of sublimity 



860 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

whicli would immortalize any other people. But of Americans 
it is expected^ and therefore, will not especially be noted by 
writei's on the war. The correspondent above referred to says 
of the personal bearing and hair-breadth escapes of some of the 
commanders : 

" General Grant is an illustration of the fortune tlirougb Avhich some 
men, in the tiiickest showers of bullets, always escajje. lie lias partici- 
pated in two skirmishes and fourteen pitched battles, and is universally 
l)ronounced, by those who have seen him on the Held, daring even to 
rashness ; but he has never received a scratcli. At four o'clock on Sun- 
day evening, he -was silting upon his horse, just in the rear of our line 
of batteries, when Captain Carson, the scout Tvho had reported to liim 
a moment before, had fallen back, and Avas holding his horse by the 
bridle, about seven feet behind him— a six-pound shot, which flew very 
near General Grant, earned away all Carson's head, except a portion 
of the chin, passed just behind Lieutenant Graves, volunteer aid to 
General Wilson, tearing away the cantle of his saddle, cutting his 
clothing but not injuring him, and then took off the legs of a soldier in 
one of General Nelson's regiments, which were just ascending the bluff. 

" About the same hour, further up to the right, General Sherman, 
who had been standing for a moment, while Major Hammond, his chief 
of staff, Avas holding his bridle, remounted. By the prancing of his 
horse, as he mounted. General Sherman's reins wore thrown over his 
neck, and he was leaning forward in the saddle, with his liead lowered, 
while Major Hammond was bringing them back over his head, Avhen a 
rifle-ball struck the line in Major Hammond's hand, severing it within 
two inches of his fingers, and passing through the toji and back of 
General Sherman's hat. Had he been sitting upright it would have 
struck his head. At another time a ball struck General Sherman on the 
shoulder, but his metallic shoulder-strap warded it off. Y/ith a third 
he was less fortunate, for it passed through his hand ; but now he has 
nearly recovered from the wound. General Sherman had throe horses 
shot under him, two with three balls each, and the last with two. It 
is the universal testimony tliat he manceuvered his troops admirably, 
and that he is the hero of the battle. His nomination to a Major- 
Generalship is a deserved tribute to one of the best officers in our 
service. 

" General I-Iurlburt had a six-pound shot pass between his horse's 
head and his arm ; a bullet passed through liis horse's mane, and one 
of his horses was killed under him. Lieutenants Dorchester and Long, 
of his staff, each had several bullets and pieces of shell strike their cloth- 
ing. Lieutenant Tesiliau, of General McCleruand's stafl^ had his cloth- 



OF THE WAR. 861 

ing perforated 1)y five balls, -without receiving a wound. Miijor Ham- 
mond, of Geiicnil Siierman's staff, had his cap cut by two bullets, and 
his boots by tw o, and two horses shot under him, but he escaped unin- 
jured. A private in the Seventeenth Illinois had two of his front teeth 
knocked out by a bullet, which, though it entered his mouth, did him 
no farther injury. A riiie-ball struck the temple of another private, 
near his right ear, passed through his head, and came out near the left 
ear; but he is recovering. Lieutenant Charles Provost, of the First 
Nebraska, received a bullet in the clasp of his sword-belt, and was after- 
Avard knocked down by the windage of a cannon-ball, but was not 
injured." 

Of Bucirs conduct, one of his men Avrote in these enthusiastic 
terms : " I wish you could have seen the gallantry, tlie bravery, 
the dauntless daring, the coolness of General Buell. lie 
seemed to be omnipresent. If ever man was qualified to com- 
mand an army, it is he. He is a great, a very great General, 
and has proved himself so; not only in organizing and dis- 
ciplining an armj^, but in handling it. General Buell had his 
horse shot under him. Captain Wright, his Aid, had the 
visor of his cap touched by a ball." 

The fighting of not only regiments, but of individuals, af- 
forded so many instances of remarkable courage, devotion and 
endurance, as to malce the record one of extraordinary though 
painful interest. " Each man fought,"' said one of the news- 
paper correspondents from the bloody field, " as if success or 
defeat dej^ended on his own right arm ; and chai"ge aftei" charge 
was made upon the rebels to regain the ground we had lost. 
The}'' stood firm as a rock ; and though our artillery often 
swept down their ranks and left fearful gaps in their columns, 
they manifested no trepidation, nor did they waver for a mo- 
ment. The living supplied the place of the dead. The 
musket tluit had fallen from a lifeless hand was seized at once, 
and the horrid strife swept on as before. The force of the 
enemy appeared increasing, and where the greatest havoc was 
made, there the strongest opposition was shown. Iland-to- 
hand contests were innumerable. Every struggle was for life. 
Quarter was asked on neither side, aiid the ground drank .up 
the blood of hundreds of brave fellows every hour. Men lost 
46 2f 



362 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

their semblance of humanity, and the spirit of the demon 
shone in their faces. There was but one desire, and that was 
to destroy. There was little shouting. The warriors were too 
much in earnest. Thej set their teeth firm, and strained every 
nerve to its utmost tension. Death lost all its terrors, and men 
seemed to feed upon the sight of blood." 

Of such ghastly features is the " gi'im front of war ;" only 
the reality is more painful, more horrible than words can 
express. Men to contemplate it with serenitj^ must be demons 
indeed, or else they must be mastered by emotions higher and 
nobler than love of life or self — the love of a cause which 
Heaven consecrates. 

One of General Buell's manoeuvres, characteristic of his off- 
hand and reliable way of meeting exigencies, is happily illus- 
trated in the followins; : 

" They were advancing in great force to turn our left and capture our 
transports and supplies, when Buell, becoming aware of their intentions, 
made preparations to receive them. About lialf a mile above the Land- 
ing are two hxvgi} ridges running back from tlie river. The ridge next 
to tlic Landing is the highest. Buell placed a battery on each of the 
ridge.s, and between them he placed a brigade of infantry. The troops 
were ordered to lie down. He then ordered the lower battery to fire on 
the enem.y and make a show of retreating in confusion, so to draw the 
rebels on. On came the rebels pell-mell, yelling at the top of their voices, 
'Bull Iluu ! Bull Run !' thinking to frighten us. As soon as the rebels 
came in range, the lower battery, agreeably to orders, opened fire, re- 
treated, and took a position in the rear of the upper battery. The rebels, 
seeing our men retreating, charged up the hill and took possession of the 
battery. The rebels, in the mean time, were not aware of our troops be- 
ing in the hollow below them. At this moment the signal was sounded, 
and the whole brigade rose to their feet and poured a deadly fire of 
rifle-balls into the ranks of the rebels, cutting them down by scores. 
At this favorable moment, also, the upper battery jjoured in a perfect 
storm of grape and canister shot. The rebels reeled and staggered like 
drunken men, and at last broke and fled in every direction, leaving the 
ground strewed with dead and dying." 



OF THE WAR. 



863 



The losses of the Union forces in the two days struggle have 
been set down at 13,508, distributed as follows : 



GRANT'S ARMY 





DITISIONS. 


KILLED. 


VrOUNDED. 


MISSING. 


TOTAL. 


1- 


-General McClernand, 


251 


1,351 


236 


1,848 


2- 


-General W. H. L. Wallace, 


228 


1,033 


1,163 


2,424 


3- 


-General Lew Wallace, 


43 


257 


5 


305 


4- 


-General Hurlburt, 


313 


1,449 


223 


1,985 


5- 


-General Sherman, 


313 


1,275 


441 


2,034 


6- 


-General Prentiss, 


196 


562 


1,802 


2,700 



Total, 



1,345 



5,927 



3,870 



11,356 



BUELL'S ARMY. 



2— General McCook, 
4 — General Nelson, 
5 — General Crittenden, 


95 
90 

80 


793 
591 
410 


8 

58 
27 


890 
739 

517 


Total, 


265 


1,794 
7,721 


93 


2,152 


Grand Total, 


1,614 


3,963 


13,508 



That of the enemy in killed and wounded was much greater 
than the Union loss. Of the rebel losses no authentic data 
probably ever will be furnished. The Sunday's fight they 
could report upon and not upon that of Monday, where they 
were compelled to leave their dead upon the field, fj'om which 
they were driven. After Monday's fight. General McCler- 
nand's division buried the remains of six hundred and thirty- 
eight rebels left upon the field. General Sherman's, six hun- 
dred. General Nelson's, two hundred and sixty-three, and Colo- 
nel's Thayer's brigade of General Lew Wallace's division, one 
hundred and twenty-three. These were the only commands 
from which returns were received ; but the most of the other 
divisions and brigades buried a proportionate number. The 
rebels must have lost four thousand killed, by the most mode- 
rate estimate. After the battle, Captain Eussell of the Sixth 
Ohio counted the bodies of one hundred and twenty-six rebels, 
lying where they fell, upon a strip of land less than one-fourth 
of a mile long, and fifty yards in width. Eleven of them, in 
front, had fallen nearly in line, about five paces apart, and were 
evidently skirmishers. Colonel Thayer of the Fii'st Nebraska, 



364: INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

in nn other portion of the field, opposite General Sherman's 
division, couPited thirty-seven dead rebels, side by side, who 
had evidently been killed while in line of battle, by a single 
volley. Sixty-eight w^ere counted in front of the ground held 
by the Forty-eighth Ohio, and eighty-five in front of the Sev- 
enty-second Ohio. A detail of men from General McCook s 
division buried in a single trench one hundred and forty-seven, 
including three Lieutenant-Colonels and four Majors. A tab- 
Tilar statement published in the Memphis Argus, April 2J:th, 
confessed to nine hundred and twenty-seven killed, four thou- 
sand four hundred and seventy-one wounded and three hun- 
dred and sixty-one missing. As ^his statement was but frag- 
mentary, and " daily additions were being made to the list," 
it was only valuable for showing what regiments were in the 
engagement. They were (so far as named :) One hundred 
and fifty-fourth Tennessee ; Fifteenth Tennessee ; Blythe's 
" Mississippi ;" Breckenridge's brigade ; Eleventh, First, Thir- 
teenth and Fourth Louisiana ; Second, Fourth, Forty-seventh, 
Sixth, First, Twenty-second, Thirteenth, Fifth, Twentieth, 
Nineteenth, Twenty-eighth, Forty-fifth and Thirty-third Ten- 
nessee ; Twentieth, Twenty-second, Twent}^ -fifth and Sixteenth 
Alabama ; Y'lrst and Thirtee'nth Arkansas ; Seventh Ken- 
tucky ; Fifteenth and Twenty-second Mississippi ; First Mis- 
souri ; Polk's, Banks' and Stamford's batteries ; Forrest's 
cavahy, &c., &c. Several companies of Texan I'angers were 
also engaged in the fight. 

Bearing on the enemy's losses we may cite the dispatch of 
Beauregard to Adjutant-General Cooper, of the Confederate 
army establishment. That dispatch was intercepted by Gene- 
ral Mitchell in his rapid and unexpected descent on Hunts 
ville, Alabama, where the telegraph office was seized. In its 
freshly -booked business file was found the following : 

"Corinth, Ajiril 9tli. 
" To General Samuel Cooper, Riclimond, Va. : 

" All present probabilities are that whenever the enemy moves on this 
position he will do so with an overwhelming force of not less than 
vrzole xriy lohkjnap men, by wna ahc vkjlyi hate nqhkl lorite xrmy 
lohkjnap yx31 wlrraqj mna phia may possibly shrakj ran xyc pnejcrlo 



OF THE WAR. 865 

nglikl xrlly 5a lolikjnap vlimy. Can we not be reinforced xrLn dy vgzilliaj 
nivc. If defeated here cy thjy lov vrjq nint 3yc nap dcliqn4te hki wnkjy 
whereas we could even afford to lose for a while wonilyjlha nap ininzii.'jyl 
for the purpose of defeating qkyt4j nive, which would not only insure 
us the valley of the Mississippi, but our independence, 

P. G. T. BEAUREGARD. " 

The "astronomer General" was not long in deciphering this. 
He had studied the laws of refraction and reflection too long 
to be baffled bj tliis dicerlisemeht. Here is the translation : 

"Cokinth, April Cth. 
*' To General Samncl Cooper^ Richmond., Ya. : 

"All present probabilities are that whenever the enemy moves on this 
position he will do so with an overwhelming force of not less than 
eighty-five thousand men. We can now muster only about tliirty-fivo 
thousand effective (men.)* Van Doi n may possiiily join us in a few days 
with fifteen thousand more. Can we nr.t be reenforced from Pembcrton's 
army ? If defeated here we lose the Mississippi valley, and probaljly 
our cause ; whereas we could even afford to lose for a while Charleston 
and Savannah, for the purpose of defeating Buell's army, which would 
not only insure us the valley of the Mississippi but our innepondence. 

P. G. T. BEAUREGARD." 

This tells a woefnl story of losses, for it is certain that, in 
the attack of Sunday, forty-five thousand men were engaged ; 
while in that of Monday, at least seventy-five thousand men 
were brought into the field. The General doubtless considered 
a large portion of his command non-effective from exhaustion, 
demoralization, desertion and sickness. 

* Beauregard's dispatch announcing to his Government the tidings 
of the second day's battle, read : 

" We have gained a great and glorious victory. Eight to ten thou- 
sand prisoners and thirty-six pieces of cannon. Buell reenforced Grant 
and we retired to our intrenchments at Corinth, which we can hold. 
Loss heavy on both sides." 

No matter if the " eight to ten thousand prisoners'' actually was 
about one-third of that number — no matter if his own losses in prison- 
ers were immense — no matter if his losses of artillery exceeded the num- 
ber given as cai)tu)ed by him ; these facts were only for " private circu- 
latioji" — those given in the dispatch were for the public. The confes- 
sions to the Adjutant-General was the key-note to the truth. But that 
was only ftn- the private, official car. 

2f2 



XXXV^II. 



A DIGRESSION. 

VlCTOmES of the most signal character followed so rapidly, 
one after the other during the latter part of April and the 
early part of May, (1861,) that the public expressed disappoint- 
ment if each morning's paper did not contain its usual " dis- 
play" of big type announcing another great conquest. Small 
affairs, where but ten or fifteen thousand troops were engaged, 
attracted but little attention. It was only the bombardment 
and fall of Fort Macon ; the bombardment and fall of Fort 
Pulaski ; the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip 
and the fall of New Orleans ; the evacuation of Yorktown 
and the pursuit of the rebel grand army toward Eicbmond ; 
only these that were the street talk, so insatiable was the pub- 
lic for heavy blows. Look at the record of news for one week, 
as gleaned from the files of the leading journals : 

Sunday, April 27. — Received news that the advance guard, 
under General Halleck, had attacked and driven back a body 
of rebels which acted as rear guard of the rebel post of Cor- 
inth. Date of fight, April 2J:th. Lieutenant Gwinn, of the 
United States Navy, in command of the Tennessee river fleet, 
led a land expedition to Bear Creek Bridge, of the Memphis 
and Charleston Railroad, destroyed two spans of the bridge, 
each one hundred and ten feet, about five hundred feet of 
trestle work, and half a mile of the rebel military telegraph 
line. The rebels hastily retreated after a short skirmish. 

Monday, April 28. — Received news of the capture of New 



OF THE WAR. 867 

Orleans. The surrender was formally made on Saturday, 
April 26tb. General McClellan captured a lunette fortifica- 
tion in front of Yorktown, driving the rebels out at a charge. 
This capture was also effected on Saturday, April 26. Gene- 
ral Banks reported our troops in possession of Stanton, Vir- 
ginia, Saturday, April 26th. 

Wednesday, April 30. — Keceived news that a cavalry re- 
connoissance met a foraging party outside of Monterey, near 
the Mississippi border, and, after a skirmish, in which five 
rebels were killed, including one Major, captured nineteen 
prisoners, putting the rest to flight. Major Duncan, of General 
Canby's staff, with a small force, obtained a victory over the 
Texan rebels in New Mexico, routing them entirely after a 
spirited fight. 

Thursday, May 1. — Keceived the news that a skirmish had 
taken place within a few miles of Corinth, between one of the 
advance brigades of General Halleck's arm}'- and the rebels. 
The Union army was victorious. Date of fight, April 29th. 

Friday, May 2. — Eeceived news that the forces of General 
Halleck had a skirmisli with the rebels at Purdy ; drove them 
through the town, which the Union troops took possession of, 
burnt two bridges, and ran a locomotive into the river. This 
action cut off all communication between Corinth and the 
North. Date of action, April 30th. 

Keceived intelligence through rebel sources, that Fort Macon 
had been surrendered, after a lengthy bombardment. Date of 
surrender, April 26th.— General Mitchell telegraphed that his 
forces had skirmished with and routed the rebels at Bridge- 
port, Ala., capturing the place. Date of fight, Wednesday, 
April 30th. — General Halleck reported that Major Hubbard, 
with one hundred and fifty of the First Missouri volunteers, 
had defeated Colonels Coffee and Stearnweight, with a force 
of six hundred Indians, at Neosho, capturing sixty -two pris- 
oners and seventy -six horses. Date of conflict, Saturday, 
April 26th. 

Saturday, May 3.— General Mitchell reports that after his 
skii-mish of Wednesday, his troops crossed from the island to 



368 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

tlie mainland, captured two cannon and tlieir ammunition. 
The rebels retreated in great confusion, without again offering 
biittle. — Tlie evacuation of Corintli reported in the South. No 
olTi^ial account thereof received from our troop?. — Baton 
Eouge reported once more in the possession of the Uiiion 
troops. 

Sl'NDAY, May 4. — Eeceived full particulars of the battle of 
Camden, or South Mills, under General Reno, reported b}'' the 
rebels as a victory for their forces. It has since proved to 
have been a defeat. — The arrival of the Santiago de Cuba brings 
intelligence of the capture of the rebel ste:\mci' Isabel^ or Ella 
Warleij ; capture of the schooner i?ee, capture of a schooner 
without a name, etc. — The arrival of the Empire City reports 
the capture of the contraband steamer Nostra Signora de liegla. 
— The captured rebel steamers Bermuda and Florida arrived 
at Philadelpliia on Saturday'", May 3d. 

Sunday Evening, May 4. — Yorktown evacuated by the 
rebels. General McClellan reports his forces in possession of 
the ramparts, guns, ammunition, camp equipage, everijtliing^ 
and his troops in full pursuit of the retreating rebels. — Glou- 
cester in possession of the Union troops. General Paine made 
a reconnoissance to Parmington, Mississippi ; met, fuught with 
and defeated four thousand live hundred rebels, and captured 
the position, some prisoners, their tents, camp equipage, etc. 
The cavalry in pursuit of the retreating rebels. Date of light, 
May 3d. — An artillery reconnoissance destroyed two trestle 
bridges, and S")me track of the Memphis and Charleston Rail- 
road, at Glendale, Mississi])pi. Date, May 3d. 

All this in one week. Yet one of the leading journals, Avith 
an impudence that bordered on the sublime, stated (in the 
middle of Maj^) that " what the Union cause now most needs 
is a striking victory, which shall at once prove the su])criority 
of the Federal arms, and thus demonstrate ioivard a final 
triumph." Can meanness go f.irther than this ? Tlie London 
Times said, early in June/ that it was ascertained tlie Union 
victories, if such were ever won, were only obtained \)\ forcing 
the Federal soldiers into battle by planting cavalry behind them 



OF THE WAR. §^69 

to cut down any regiment that llincljcd ! Tlie malignancy 
of the Soutliern mind found a fit counterpart in tlje con- 
temptible meanness of the English heart, for through all our 
gigantic struggle against treason and conspiracy to overthrow 
the Union, the English press — with one or two honorable 
exceptions — sedulously misinterpreted, scoITcd, maligned and 
ridiculed the progress of the Federal arms and the measures 
of the Federal Government, So much for a " great and 
chivalrous nation !" History will point to her in scorn as the 
embodiment of hypocrisy, dishonor and malice. Tlie people 
of the United States can afford to await their time to i-edress 
the insults henped upon them by a people whose verv exist- 
ence depends in so lai'ge a measure upon American products 
and money. A bitterness has grown in the American heart, 
towai'd the old cnem}'-, during the progress of the war for the 
Union, which it will take more than one generation to forget. 
There never will he a satisfied people on these shores, until British 
insolence and ingratitude is thoroughly/ and 2'^ermanentbj ivinislicd. 
In saying this we simply interpret a sentiment which every 
intelligent American knows to exist. Let those who are wise 
read the " signs of the times" aright, and be prepared for a 
conflict for supremacy which will as surely come as that 
British insolence has an existence. The Great Republic lias 
only fought half the fight for human liberty, and popular 
Government, in i-epressing the Southern rebellion : the other 
half is to be fought with those enemies of the Eepublic in 
Europe who presume to sit in judgment on our affairs ; to say 
what we shall and shall not do — as if they Avere the arbiters 
of the destinies of the American Continent. The Nineteenth 
Century must witness the complete supremacy of the American 
Union in tho affairs of this Continent, without fears of foreign 
"intervention" or dictation, or it must witness the downfdl of 
popular Government. The century has no other issue. 



47 



XXX^ITI. 



BOMBARDMENT OF FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP, AND 
THE FALL OF NEW ORLEANS. 

The conflict with the forts guarding the approach to New 
Orleans, added to the lustre of American arms, and afforded 
another demonstration of the immense superiority of fleets 
over land defenses. The first official announcement from the 
scene of the contest was as follows : 

" To the Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy. 

"I Lave the honor to announce that, in the providence of God, which smiles 
upon a just cause, the squadron under flag-oflBcer Farragut, has been vouchsafed a 
glorious victory and triumph in the capture of the city of New Orleans, Forts 
Jackson, St. Philip, Livingston and Pike, the batteries above and below New 
Orleans, as well as the total destruction of the enemy's gunboats, steam rams, 
floating batteries (iron-clad,) fire-rafts, and obstructions, booms and chains. The 
enemy, with their own hands, destroyed from eight to ten millions of cotton and 
shipping. Our loss ie thirty-six killed and one hundred and twenty-three wounded. 
The enemy lost from one thousand to fifteen hundred, besides several hundred 
prisoners. The way is clear, and the rebel defenses destroyed from tlie Gulf to 
Eaton Rouge, and, probably, to Memphis. Our'flag waves triumphantly over them 
all. I am bearer of dispatches. 

(Signed) " THEODORUS BAILEY." 

This most important announcement was dated at Fortress 
Monroe, May 8th, 1862. It filled the hearts of loyalists with 
rejoicing and sent dismay into the hearts of the revolutionists. 
It was just cause for rejoicing, opening, as it virtually did, the 
Mississippi river to commerce, and depriving the rebels of their 
most important metropolis. Eecognizing its importance, the 
Confederates had so fortified the approaches as to deem the 
city safe, and they looked forward to the Federal struggle with 



OF THE WAR. 371 

tlieir forts and obstructions, with a satisfaction not at all re- 
pressed. The New Orleans papers were defiant and derisive 
until the sudden knowledge (April 26th) that the Federal gun- 
boats were appi'oaching the city, when dismay' sent the over- 
confident and boastful press into the most painful condition of 
wounded pride. 

The story of the struggle by which the Union forces under 
General Butler were placed in possession of the capital, forms 
one of the most novel and deeply interesting chapters of the 
war. We will recur to it with as much brevity as is consis- 
tent with completeness. 

The success of the expeditions against Hatteras, Port Eo3"al 
and the North Carolina coast inspired the Navy Department 
with new zeal in the prosecution of its plans for the reduction 
of New Orleans, It secretly organized an immense fleet of 
gunboats, mortars and transports, giving the fleet command 
to Commodore D. G. Farragut, and the mortar flotilla to Cap- 
tain D. D. Porter; while an expeditionary corps of land 
forces was placed under command of Major-General B. F. 
Butler. The destination of the fleet and flotilla was kept a 
secret for some time, though by March 20th it became gener- 
ally understood that New Orleans was its point of combined 
operations. Butler's forces centered at Ship Island eiwly in 
March. Brigadier-General Phelps assuming command, await- 
ing the superior officer s arrival. The fleet arrived at Ship 
Island late in March ; the bomb flotilla and transports rapidly 
followed, bearing an armament of mortars, the strength of 
which exceeded that brought to bear upon Sebastopol. 

This concentration at once threatened Mobile and New Or- 
leans. The rebels immediately deserted Pensacola, which 
tiiey had fortified with so much labor and cost — the laml 
forces under Bragg hastening to reenforce Johnston and Beau- 
regard at Corinth, and the artillerists from the forts going to 
strengthen the garrisons in the forts guarding Mobile and New 
Orleans. The forts, Navy-yard, dry dock, store houses, bar- 
racks and marine hospital at Pensacola were abandoned, April 
6-9 th. On the night of the latter day they wej-e fired by the 



372 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

coast guard and consumed. This left no " enemy in the rear" 
to attend to, and all attention was directed to the work in 
hand against the forts commanding the approaches to New 
Orleans, 

The fleet and flotilla gathered, during the middle of April, 
in the Mississippi River, ten miles below Fort Jackson. The 
novel expedient was then resorted to of painting the vessels 
with mud — the more effectually to hide them from the ene- 
my's sight. The masts were afterwards I'igged out with bushes 
and ever-greens, thus quite successfully mash'ng their propor- 
tions. It was only by the smoke of the Federal guns that 
their location could be marked by the enemy. Under the 
leafy covert of the river banks the mortar-boats fought, when 
the bombardment finally opened, in comparative security, 
sending their fearful thirteen-inch shells into the Fort (Jack- 
son) with precision, without offering any target for a return 
fire. The mud-paint and bush-masque were a " Yankee trick," 
for which the rebels were not pre])ai-ed. 

The bomb flotilla was prepared for the bombardment by 
the 17th. The rebels sent fire rafts, in large numbers, down 
the river, hoping to destroy some of the Union boats, but they 
were uniformly sup])7'essed by a ball or two from one of the 
rifled guns. " The mortar fleet sent the first missile howling 
over the water," wrote a correspondent, " towards Fort Jack- 
son at precisely half-past nine on the morning of Fridaj^, April 
18th. It is called Good Friday in the calendar of the Church, 
although anything but a good day for the rebels. Our schoon- 
ers lay partly hidden from the enemy behind the trees and 
under the brushwood of a dense swamp which stretches along 
the right bank of the river. With a curious display of inge- 
rtuit}', they baffled the eyes of the enemy still further by dress- 
ing up their masts and rigging with the branches of green 
withes and leaves, which so confounded them witli the woods 
that at a distance tliey could scarcely be distinguished. The 
rebel gunners learned only from the wreaths of smoke which 
curled above the seeming forest the temporary position of 
their assailants. This will be pronounced a Yankee trick, 



OP THE WAR. 373 

doubtless, by our secession critics and their sympathetic friends 
abroad, or else, that it was borrowed from Macbeth's enemies, 
when ' Birnam wood did come to Dunsinane.' 

" The distance of the foremost vessel from the Fort was 
three thousand three hundred and forty yards, and tlie three 
divisions of which the fleet was composed engaged in the fire 
alternately, each division firing for four hours and then rest- 
ing for eight. The rate of fire generally observed was, one 
shell from each mortar of the division every ten minutes. As 
Fort Jackson replied with considerable rapidity and vigor, 3'ou 
may conceivie the noise of the thunder, which was continued 
for six days and five nights. 

" Fortunately, our schooners were mostly out of the range of 
Fort Jackson, and only within range of Fort Philip ; but, even 
from tlie latter, nothing but rifled guns and mortars were at 
all dangerous. Fortunately again, the enemy had few of these 
customers to send us, and we fought comparatively secure. 
Many of our vessels were struck, in the course of the long 
engagement, but only one of them was severely injured, and 
only two of their men severely wounded." 

The firing of the bomb and gunboats having apparently 
done but indifferent service in disabling the forts, Commodore 
Farragut determined to " run their fire" and make for the city 
without waiting for the reduction of the formidable defenses. 
All night long of the 23d the vessels of the squadron were 
arranging for the perilous attempt, and were on the way by 
three A. M. Captain Porter, in his report, said : 

" We commenced the bombardment of Fort Jackson on 
the 18th, and continued it without intermission until the squa- 
dron made preparations to move. The squadron was foi-med 
in three lines to pass the forts. Captain Bailey's division 
composed of the following vessels, leading to the attack on 
Fort St. Pliilip, viz. : Cayvga, Pensacola, Mississippi, Oneida, 
Varuna^ Katahden, Kineo and Wissahicon. Flag Officer Farra- 
gut leading the following (second line) : Hartford, Brooldyn 
and JRichmond ; and Commander Bell leading the third divi- 

2g 



374: INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

si on composed of the following vessels : Sciota, Iroquois, Pi 
nola, Winona, Itasca and Kennebec. 

" The steamers belonging to the mortar flotilla were to enfi- 
lade the water battery commanding the approaches ; mortar 
steamers Harriet Lane, Westjieid, Owasco, Clifton and Saanee, 
and the Jackson towing tlie Portsmouth. The vessels of the 
squadron were rather late in getting weigh and into line ; and 
did not get fairly started until 3:30 A. M. The unusual bustle 
apprised the garrison that something was going on. 

" In an hour and ten minutes after the vessels had weighed 
anchor, they had passed the forts, under a most terrific fire, 
which they returned with interest. Tlie mortar fleet rained 
down shells upon Fort Jackson to try and keep the men ft-om 
the guns, while the steamers of the mortar fleet povired in 
shrapnel upon the water battery commanding the approach at 
a short distance, keeping them comparatively quiet. When 
the last vessel could be seen, amid the fire and smoke, to pass 
the battery, signal was made to the mortars to cease firing, 
and the flotilla steamers were directed to retire from a contest 
that w^ould soon become unequal." 

This alludes only incidentally to that extraordinary " run- 
ning the muck." From a resume of the eventful passage, we 
may quote : " Just before dawn the squadron was discovered 
approaching by the enemy. The fury with which it was 
attacked is proved by the tremendous exertions our vessels 
were compelled to make in order to carry through their pur- 
pose. At first the rebel fleet endeavored only to check their 
progress, while the two forts poured incessant volleys upon 
them ; but presently the action became closer and more 
involved, and mainly confined to the river. Hollins' ' ram,' 
the Manassas, although it afterward turned out a helpless and 
feeble fabric, served the rebels well for a time. It not only 
engaged Commodore Farragut's flag-ship, the Hartford, but 
also succeeded in forcing a fire raft upon her, from which she 
narrowly escaped destruction. ' I thought it was all up with 
us,' said the Commodore in a letter describing the event to 



OF THE WAR. 375 

Captain Porter. The flames were, however, extinguished in 
time to save the ship, and the ' ram' betook itself to other 
errands of destruction. The floating battery Louisiana^ which 
lay moored not far from Fort Jackson, also occasioned great 
inconvenience. Its firing was well directed, and its metallic 
sides were found to be quite impenetrable. Other 'rams' 
emulated the Manassas, and attacked our gunboats with con- 
siderable effect. The Varuna, gallantly commanded by Cap- 
tain Boggs, was broken in pieces by their repeated onsets, but 
before her own destruction she made her name memorable by 
disabling and destroying no less than six of the rebel craft. 
Five of these were set in flames by the Varuna's shell and 
run ashore, and another was shattered and forced to surrender. 
The intrepid tenacity of the Varuna's officers and crew is best 
illustrated by the fact that her last broadside, which beat in 
the sides of the ram Morgan, was fired while the gun-carriages 
on her upper deck w^ere already settling in the water. During 
this time our other gunboats were not idle. Nine of them, 
together with the sloops-of-war, fought their way up the river, 
and gradually widened the space between themselves and the 
forts. A few were beaten back, having received injuries to 
their machinery which rendered them incapable of proceeding. 
The Itasca, for example, is said to have received thirteen shots 
under her water line, beside having her boiler destroyed. But 
a sufficient number passed to secure the success of the expe- 
dition. Even at the last moment, tlie rebels maintained the 
struggle. Some of their steamers, which had been spared on 
condition of surrendering, broke away and renewed the fight 
at other points. Finally, the ' vcim^ Manassas, after the engage- 
ment had virtually ended, and when the Union squadron was 
seeking an anchorage, bustled up after them, and fired a shot 
or two at the Richmond. The Mississipj^i turned swiftly to 
resent the insult, when, as if fearful of the consequences of its 
temerity, the ' ram' immediately ran ashore, was deserted, and 
was forthwith pounded to fragments by three heavy broad- 
sides from its pursuer. 

" The conflict was a short one, lasting only an hour and a 



876 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

half at the most. By lialf-past live in the morning our success 
bad been acliicved, and the destiny of New Orleans decided. 
It was a result which the rebels never had anticipated, and 
wdiich could never have been obtained except by the most 
devoted and unshrinking bravery. The consternation of the 
people of New Orleans was all the greater for the confidence 
they had cherished. After this decisive action only the merest 
show of resistance was offered at the fortiiications intended 
for the immediate protection of the city. The fleet lay before 
New Orleans on the morning of the 25th. The inhabitants 
seemed possessed with a frenzy of rage and appi-ehension. 
They were destroying all accessible property, the rebel Gene- 
ral Lovell having set the example by burning his own goods. 
The olhcer sent on shore by Commodore Farragutwas received 
by the people, whom their Mayor afterward characterized as 
' gallant and sensitive to all that can affect their dignity and 
self-respect,' with brutal and ferocious demonstration of insult. 
In spite of this and similar actions, the dignity of our own 
mission Avas sustained, and the quiet occupation of the city by 
our forces was duly carried into effect.'' 

Farragut announced his success in the following rather 
laconic epistle to the commander of the flotilla : 

" Dear Porter : We had a rough time of it, as Boggs will tell j'ou, 
but, thank God, tlie number of killed and wounded was very small, con- 
sidering. This ship had two killed and eight wounded. We destroyed 
the ram in a single combat between her and the old Mississippi^ but the 
ram backed out when she saw the Mississippi coming at him so ram- 
pantly, and he dodged her and ran on shore, wherupon Smith put two 
or three broadsides through him and knocked him all to pieces. The 
ram jjushed a fire-raft on to me, and in trying to avoid it I ran the ship 
on shore. He again pushed the fire-raft on me, and got the ship on fire 
all along one side. I thought it was all up with us, but we put it out 
and got off again, proceeding up the river, fighting our way. We liave 
destroyed all but two of the gunboats, and these will have to surrender 
with the forts. I intend to follow up my success and push for New 
Orleans and tlien come down and attend to the forts, so you hold them 
in statu quo until I come back. I think if you send a flag of truce and 
demand their surrender they will yield, for their intercourse with the city 
is cut off. We have cut the wires above the Quaruutinc and are now 
going ahead. I took three hundred or four hundred prisoners at 



OF THE WAR. 877 

(Quarantine. They snrrendcrefl and I paroled tliem not to take up arms 
again. I conld not stop to take care of tliem. If the General will come 
up to the bayou and land a few men or as many as he pleases, Mie will 
find two of our gunboats tiicre to protect him from the gunboats that 
are at the forts. I wish t j get to the English Turn, where they say they 
have not placed a battery yet, but have two above, nearer New 
Orleans. " 

Captain Boggs' account of his exploit deserves notice. "We 
give the material portions of his report : 

" Sir : I have the honor to report that, after passing the batteries with 
the steamer Varuna under my command, on the morning of the 24th, 
finding my vessel amid a nest of rebel steamers, I started ahead, deliver- 
ing her fire both starboard and port at every one that she passed. The 
first on her starboard beam that received her fire appeared to be crowd- 
ed with troops. Her boiler was exploded and slie drifted to shore. In 
like manner three other vessels, and one of them a gunboat, were driven 
ashore in flames and afterwards blew up. 

"At six A. M. the Varuna was attacked by the Morgan, iron-clad 
about the bow, commanded by Beverley Kennion, an ex-naval oflicer. 
This vessel raked us along the port gangway, killing four and wound- 
ing nine of tlie crew, butting the Varuna on the quarter and again on 
the starboard side. I managed to get three eight-inch shell into her 
abaft her armor, as also sevei-al shot from the after rifled gun, when she 
dropi)ed out of action partially disabled. 

"While still engaged with her another rebel steamer, iron-clad, with 
a prow under water, struck us on the port-gangway, doing considerable 
damage. Our shot glanced from her bow. She backed oft" for another 
blow, and struck again in the same place, crushing in the side, but by 
going ahead fast the concussion drew her bow around, and I was able 
■with the port guns to give her, while close alongside, five eight-inch 
shells abaft her armor. This settled her, and drove her ashore in flames. 
Finding the Varuna sinking, I ran her into the bank, let go her anchor, 
and tied up to the trees. 

"During all this time the guns Avere actively at work, crippling the 
Morgan, ^Nliich was making feeble efibrts to get up steam. 

" The fire Avas kept up until the water was over the gun-trucks, when 
I turned my attention to getting the wounded and crew out of the 
vessel. The Oneida, Captain Lee, seeing the condition of the Varuna, 
had rushed to her assistance, but I waved her on, and the 3Iorgan sur- 
rendered to hei-, the vessel in flames. 

" I have since learned that over fifty of her crew were killed and 
wounded, auel she was set on fire by her commander, who burned his 
48 2g2 



378 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

wounded with Lis vessel. I cannot award too miicli praise to the 
ofBcers and crew of the Varuna for the noble manner in which they 
.supported me, and their coolness under such exciting circumstances, 
particularly when extinguishing fire, having been set on tire twice 
during the action by shells. 

" lu tifteen minutes from the time the Varuna was struck ^he was on 
the bottom, with only her topgallant forecastle out of water. The 
officers and crew lost everything they possessed, no one thinking of 
leaving his station until driven thence by water." 

The forts followed tbe fate of the citj. A demand was 
made b}'- Captain Porter for their surrender, immediately after 
the passage up of Commodore Farragut's squadron ; but, the 
commanding officer, Colonel Higgins, refused to give up, par- 
ticularly as he regarded himself able to hold the position 
for a time longer against Porter's bombs. Porter preferred to 
await the coming up of Butler's forces from the land side, to 
invest and carry the works by storm. Aware of this approach 
of the land forces, tiie commanding officer in the main fortress, 
together with General J. P. Duncan, commanding the coast 
defenses, andW. B. Renshaw,* commanding the rebel " navy," 
accepted the terms of capitulation extended by Captain Porter. 

The forts finally surrendered, as stated, April 28th. Porter, 
in his account of the interview with the rebel officers, reflected 
in severe terms upon the want of honor in one commander J. 
K. Mitchell, who, while the negotiations for the surrender were 
transpiring, towed above the fort, with his three steamers, an 
iron floating battery of sixteen guns. This was set on fire and 
sent adrift to come down upon the Harriet Lane, on board of 
which the articles of capitulation were being arranged. Porter 
said : " AVhile drifting down on lis the guns, oettins; heated, 
exploded, throwing the shots above the river. A few minutes 
after the floating battery exploded with a terrific noise, throw- 

* This Renshaw was one of the Lieutenants in command at Pensacola 
Navy Yard, in 1881 ; and, in conjunction with Captain Farrand, he 
betrayed that important property into the hands of those with whom he 
had been, for some time, conspiring. His release, on '' parole," Avas a 
great mistake, since it recognized him as an ordinary belligerent. He 
should have been held, to be tried for high treason. 



OF THE WAR, 879 

ing tlie fragments all over the river, and wounding one of 
their own men in Fort St. Philip, and immediately disappeared 
under water. Had she blown up near the vessels she would 
have destroyed the whole of them." It is well to know that 
Porter thrust the scoundrels into close quarters when he ob- 
tained possession of their persons a few hours afterward. They 
onglit to have been instantly tried by court-martial and shot 
for their rascality. In doing as they did, the rebels on board 
the steamers only expressed their own disregard for all the 
rules of civilized warfare. They courted savage treatment, 
and should, in strict justice, have had it; but, in consonance 
with the general course pursued toward the Southern prisoners, 
they were treated with lenity. 

Tlie forts, after capitulation, were turned over to General 
Phelps. Porter said of their condition : " Fort Jackson is a 
perfect ruin. I am told that over one thousand eight hundred 
shells fell in and burst over the centre of the fort. The prac- 
tice was beautiful. The next fort we go at we will settle 
sooner, as this has been hard to get at. The naval officers 
sunk one gunboat while the capitulation was going on, but I 
have one of the others, a steamer, at work, and hope soon to 
have the other." 



26 



J^SZ I^^ ^SL X Jc^ m 



IXCIDEX'J'S OF THE CAPTURE OF FORTS JACKSON AND ST. 
PHILIP, AND THE FALL OF NEW ORLEANS. 

Before our bombardment of tlie forts began, the commanders 
of tbe Britisli and French men-of war lying in the river ex- 
pressed a desire to visit the enemy, of course to examine his 
jorcparations. The Commodore readily granted their request. 
"When they returned, they assured him that it was of no use 
for him to attempt the capture of New Orleans in that direc- 
tion ; it could not be done with wooden vessels. The brave 
old tar replied : " I was sent here to make the attempt. You 
may be right, but I came here to take New Orleans — to pass 
the forts — and I shall try it on /" 

Of the fire-rafts sent down on the 18th and 19th, to destroy 
our fleet, a reporter present at the scene, wrote : " Our men 
had an opportunity to test, in a practical manner, their means 
for destroying fire-rafts, and they proved to be an admii-able 
success. A turgid column of black smoke, arising from resi- 
nous wood, was seen approaching us from the vicinity of the 
forts. Signal lights were made, the varied colors of which 
produced a beautiful effect upon the folioge of the river bank, 
and rendered the darkness intenser by contrast when they dis- 
appeared. Instantly a hundred boats shot out towards the 
raft, which now was blazing fiercely, and casting a wide zone 
of liglit upon the water. Two or three of the gunboats then 
got under way and steamed boldly toward the unknown thing 
of terror. One of them, the Wesfjield, Captain Eenshaw, gal- 
lantlv opens her steam valves, and dashes furiously upon it, 
making the sparks fly and timbers crash with the force of her 



OF THE WAR. 881 

blow. Then a stream of water from her hose pla3'S upon the 
blazing mass. Now the small boats lay alongside, coming up 
helter-skelter, and actively employing their men. We soo 
everj^thing distinctly in the broad glare — men, oars, boats, 
buckets, and roj^^es. The scene looks phantom-like, supernatu- 
ral ; intensely interesting, extremely exciting, inextricably 
confused. But, finally, the object is nobly accomplished. The 
raft, yet fiercely burning, is taken out of range of the anchored 
vessels and towed ashore, where it is slowly consumed. As 
the boats return thej'" are cheered by the fleet, and the scene 
changes to one of darkness and repose, broken occasionally by 
the gruff hail of a seaman when a boat, sent on business from 
one vessel to another, passes through the fleet. "We have a 
contempt for fire-rafts. They have proved, like many other 
things, to bo ' weak inventions of the enemy.' " 

Fort Jackson, as stated by Captain Porter, was greatly shat- 
tered by the appalling fire of the flotilla and fleet. The 
drawbridges were completely destroyed; the cisterns were 
demolished ; the casemates and passages were filled with 
water, the levee having been cut away. The platforms for 
tents were destroyed by the- fire of shells. All the casemates 
are cracked from end to end, and in some places the roofs are 
completely broken, and frequently masses of brick have been 
dislodged. Four guns were dismounted, and eleven carriages 
and traverses injured. The outer works of the fort are ci'acked 
from top to bottom, in several places admitting dajdight freely. 
It is computed tliat 3,339 shells were thrown into the ditches 
and overflowed parts of the fort; 1,080 shells exploded in the 
air over the fort ; 1,113 mortar-shells were counted on the 
sloping ground of the fort and levee, and eighty-seven round 
shot. Altogether 7,500 shells were fired. One shell passed 
through the roof of the water battery magazine, but did not 
explode. On the parapet were fourteen new graves. 

Porter, when told, at the conference on board the Harriet 
Lane, that the rebel " gentlemen of the navy'' had fired and 
let loose the iron batter}', signalled to his captains to look out 
for their ships, and then quietly went on with the conference, 



382 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 



i 



telling tlie rebel colonel who was on board wita him, that 
"we could stand the fire and bio w-np, if he could." That 
spcecli has the true ring of the old " Essex ' Porter, whoj^ 
fought one of the most desperate battles known to history, ■ 
and whose spirit is evidently alive in this descendant of his, 

Durino; the conflict the much lieard of ram Manassas — with 
which Commodore Hollins achieved his sole exploit by run- 
ning into the Brooklyn when she ventured into the river in the 
fall of 1861 — again made its appearance, but only to its own 
dire destruction. It was so well " peppered" that it came 
drifting helplessly down stream on fire and in a sinking condi- 
tion. Whether her crew remained on board, to be roasted or 
parboiled according to their place in the ship, or whether they 
escaped, is not known. Commodore Porter, who had an eye 
for a joke, did his best to preserve that specimen joke of the 
rebels ; he clapped a hawser round it and tried to tow it to 
the bank, but the ridiculous affair gave a puff, blew a few 
harmless flakes of flame into the eyes of the laughing tars who 
were endeavoring to surround it, and sunk. 

Among other things destroj^ed by the rebels at Kew Or- 
leans, was their monster and really formidable floating bat- 
teiy — the Mississippi — upon which the Southern people had 
founded high hopes of success to their cause. She had breu 
seven mouths in course of construction, employing five hun- 
dred men the whole time, and would have been finished in 
three weeks. Her length was two hundred and seventj^ feet, 
her depth sixty, and her armament was to have been twenty 
rifled guns. The frame of the hull was made of Georgia pine, 
nine inches thick. Over the wood were placed three plates 
of rolled iron, making the thickness of the armor alone four 
inches and a half She was 5,000 tons burden, and her mo- 
tive power consisted of three propellers, which were calculate! 
to give her a speed of eleven knots an hour. Two millions 
of dollars are said to have been expended in building her. 
Some of the prisoners, taken in the gunboats, stated that she 
was intended to break up the blockade and then cruise in the 
Gulf and near Havana for prizes. 



OF THE WAR, 883 

A pleasing incident occurred when the Federal frigate 2Iis- 
sissipj^i struck the levee shore at " Algiers" in her efibrt to 
swing around, A large and boisterous crowd collected, and 
sought to provoke the officers and men by their remarks. 
The Captain, to drown their noise, called the band and bade 
them strike up Hail Columbia, Involuntarily, as it were, the 
rabble ceased howling, and instinctively some of the old men 
in the throng raised their hats in acknowledgment of the strains 
which from their youth had inspired them. 

Two Irishmen came alongside Captain "Woodworth's vessel 
on her way up stream, with milk and eggs to sell. The Cap- 
tain, to enjoy a joke, offered to pay them for what was pur- 
chased in Confederate scrip. " Be gorra !"' said Pat, " I thought 
jez was gintlemen, and paid for what yez wanted, Divil a 
bit of money have I seen for a year, and Confederate scrip 
has brought the wife and children to starvation almost." He 
was paid in the coin of Uncle Sam, when he broke out : " Hur- 
rah for the ould flag ! They wanted to make me fight against 
it, but I never have fought and I never will fit for 'em," And 
he turned the money in his hand, examining it curiously, as a 
child might a newly-acquired toy, 

A correspondent wrote of the appearance of the city : " I 
was impressed with the remarkably desolate appearance of the 
city. All the warehouses were shut, and there was not a ves- 
sel, save those of the squadron, to be seen anywhere. As 
soon as the fleet, in its victorious advance, swept away the 
defenses at La Chalmette, a few miles below, and appeared 
before the city, the deluded people burned all the shipping, 
and quantities of sugar, tobacco and cotton. The work of 
destruction was complete. More than forty vessels — steamers, 
schooners, ships — and immense piles of cotton, were fired at 
the same time, and the levee was a line of flame. The scene 
is described as being terrible. The mob took advantage of the 
occasion to plundei*, and a panic of the wildest description 
raged, I saw the effects of this wanton sacrifice of property 
in the half-burned and submerged hulls of several vessels, and 



SSI INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

the charred planks of the wharves on botli sides of the river. 
beveral heaps of cotton -were still ablaze." 

The mob was only learned to cease its violence and taunts 
by the strong hand of Butler's soldiers. A day or two after 
the United States flag was hoisted over the public buildings, 
some persons assembled before the Mint, and tore the colors 
fj-om the staff, trampling upon them. The Pensacola, then 
l^ing opposite, discharged a round of grape into the crowd, 
hilling one man and dispersing the others. When Butler as- 
sumed martial control over affairs the fellow who tore the flag 
down (one Mumford) was taken, tried and hung in sight of 
a vast assembly, while his sentence was placarded over the 
city. That summary disposition of one incorrigible traitor 
had the capital effect to render treason much less popular. 
The Vv'omen of the city — including its leading " ladies'' — were, 
however, so malignant, and impudent in their malignancy, as 
to omit no occasion to bestow upon the Federal ofhcers and 
soldiers alike their utmost scorn by words and acts. Oaths, 
imprecations, indecent epithets and spitting in faces were 
everywhere meted out to the quiet and gentlemanly fellows 
who were distributed over the city as a guard. Butler finally 
put a stop to this feminine and disgraceful state of aff'airs by 
ordering the enforcement of a local law which assumed all 
females to be "women of the town" who were guilty of public 
indecorum: all such were to be consigned to the calaboose. 
There was vei'v little female treason visible after that order. 
It was that order which so horrified Johnnj- Bull as to compel 
a leading faction in Parliament to demand English " inter- 
ference" in our affairs, to put a stop to such outrages upon 
helpless women ! 

There were found, safelv stored in the Custom House, at 
least $50, COO v^-crth of bells of all dcscrijitions, from the pon- 
derous cathedral bell to the smallest size of hand-bells. These 
had been contributed in response to the proclan:iation of Beau- 
regard for gun metal, and were to have been worked up in 
the Algiers foundiies. The " patriotic" churches, planters and 



OF THE WAR. 885 

schools wliicli had contributed these bells to " the cause" must 
have relished the joke exceedingly when they were made to 
chime melodiously for a Yankee victorj^ Unlike Teimyson's 
poetical bells, they rang in the Old and rang out the New 
order of things. 

Commodore Farragut's politeness was of a nature to excite 
a smile for its significance. April 26th he dispatched to " Ilis 
Honor, the Mayor of New Orleans," the following polite 
request : 

" Your Honor -will please give directions that no flag but tliat of 
tlie United states will be permitted to fly in the presence of this fleet 
so long as it lias the power to prevent it; and as all dlsiAays of that 
hind may be the cause of IhodsJied, I liave to request that you wiU give 
this communication as wide a circulation as jiossible." 

This so injured the feelings of the Maj'or that " His Honor" 
immediately made it the subject of a special message to the 
City Council, Faragut s politeness evidently was of the over- 
powering kind. 

The day previous (April 2oth) the Commodore dispatched 
Captain Bailey to the Mayor to demand the unconditional 
surrender of the city — the hauling down of the Louisiana flag 
from, the City Hall and of the Confederate flag from the Cus- 
tom House, Post-oflice and Mint — to require the raising of the 
United States flag on all these places. The Mayor called in 
General Lovell, commander-in-chief of the rebel forces, for the 
defense of the city. As stated by " His Honor," in his mes- 
sage to the Common Council, immediately convened : " Gene- 
ral Lovell refused to surrender the city or his forces, or any 
portion of them ; but accompanied his refusal with the state- 
ment that he should evacuate the city, withdraw his troops, 
and then leave the city authorities to act as they might deem 
proper." Whereupon the Mayor confessed that he was placed 
in a pretty predicament : as a civil magistrate how could he 
surrender the city to a hostile force ? He asked the Council's 
advice, and, in the end, addressed a very impertinent note to 
the considerate Commodore, stating 'that brute force had 
power to do as it pleased, and might come and take thp city. 
49 2h 



886 TXCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

It remained for Butler to teach " His Honor" good manners 
by sending him to the North to spend the summer in a less 
treason-tainted atmosphere than that of New Orleans. Butler 
proved to be a capital physician for all the ills which afflicted 
the sensitive souls of the Southern " copper-heads." He soon 
brought order, peace, security, industry, commerce out of that 
chaos of treason and rebel ruffianism. Was it for that service 
to law and order that the foreign interventers demanded his 
recall ? 



^sZ Xj • 



SECESSION ATROCITY ON THE FIELD. 

A FACT made apparent early in the contest, was the shock- 
ing cruelty practiced upon Federal prisoners, by the rebels. 
Parson Brownlow explicitly stated, that troops passed home 
from the battle-field of Bull Eun, armed with Yankee skulls, 
teeth, finger -bones, etc., as trophies, and exhibited them to 
their delighted friends as an Indian would have shown his 
scalps, in evidence of his valor. The same statement was 
made by various authorities, and was discovered to be true 
upon the reoccupation of the field by McClellan's advance. 
Residents in and around Manassas confessed freely that the 
wounded were bayoneted, and their bodies left, in many 
instances, unburied — that all our dead soldiers were stripped 
of clothing and property almost as soon as the retreat com- 
menced — that numbers were buried face downward, to express 
the fiendish disregard of the rules of civilized warfare, which 



OF THE WAR. 887 

the rebels saw proper to exercise upon many occasions. The 
Southern army teamsters frequently referred to the fact, that 
they used Yankee skulls for tar-pots, slung under the wagons 
by two strings. Women were found in the Shenandoah 
valley wearing amulets, made of Yankee finger and toe-bones. 
The women of Winchester were remarkable for their profanity 
in everything regarding the "Yankee." Even the daughter 
of General Taylor — the once beautiful and dashing Bessie, 
who married Colonel Bliss, and, after his decease, wedded a 
physician living in Winchester — scarcely refrained from vul- 
gar rudeness and malice toward the men and officers of the 
Union army. Everywhere, throughout Virginia, the spirit of 
secession seiemed allied to the spirit of evil : men, women, and 
even children alike were possessed of a malignancy of heart, 
that argued anything but civilization and self-respect. 

The Lynchburg (Va.) Republican told a story, illustrative 
of the indifference entertained by Southern gentlemen toward 
Northern friends. It may be repeated : 

"Just before the war broke out, and before Lincoln's proclamation 
was issued, a young Virginian named Summerfield was visiting tlie city 
of New York, where he made the acquaintance of two Misses Holmes, 
from Waterbury, Vt. He became somewhat intimate with the young 
ladies, and the intercourse seemed to be mutually agreeable. The i^ro- 
clamation was issued, and the whole North thrown into a blaze of 
excitement. Upon visiting the ladies one evening, and at the hour of 
parting, they remarked to Summerfield that their present meeting would 
probably be the last ; they must hurry home to aid in making up the 
overcoats and clothing for the volunteers from their town. Summer- 
field expressed his regret that they must leave, but at the same time 
especially requesting them to see that the overcoats were well made, as 
it was his intention, if he ever met the Vermont regiment in battle, to 
kill one of them and take his coat. Now for the sequel. Virginia se- 
ceded. The Second Vermont regiment, a portion of which was from 
the town of Waterbury, was sent to Virginia. The battle of Manassas 
was fought, in which they were engaged, and so was Summerfield. 
During the battle S. marked his man, not knowing to what State he 
belonged ; the fatal ball was sped on its errand of death ; the victim 
fell at the flash of the gun, and upon rushing up to secure the dead 
man's arms, Summerfield observed that he had a fine new overcoat 
strapped to his back, which he determined io appiopriate to his own 



388 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

use. The flglit was over, and Summerfield had time to examine his 
prize, when, remarkable as it may apj^ear, the coat was marked in the 
lining with the name of Thomas Holmes, and in the pockets were found 
letters, signed with the name of the sister, whom Summer/ield had 
known in New York, and to whom he had made the remark we have 
quoted, in which the dead man was addressed as brother. The evi- 
dence was conclusive — he had killed the brother of his friend, and the 
remark which he had made in jest had a melancholy fulfilment. We 
are assured this narrative is literally true. Summerfield now wears the 
coat, and, our informant states, is not a little impressed with the singu- 
larity of the coincidence." 

" Is not a little impressed with the singularity of the coinci- 
dence !" No feeling of regret for the shooting of the brother 
of those in whose family he had been a guest — no compunc- 
tions of conscience against robbing the dead of goods made up 
with hands which he had once pressed in friendship ! No ! 
Southern enmity forbade any such " sentimental qualms ;" 
Southern honor and the Southern cause alike demanded that 
a Northerner should be regarded as a savage, and treated as 
such. 

The massacre at Guyandotte, Virginia, illustrated this spirit 
of secession atrocity. There a troop of Union cavalry was 
quartered, when the rebels, secretly informed of the fact by tlie 
residents of the town, made a sudden descent upon the place. 
An indiscriminate slaughter of the Federals followed, in which 
the people of Guyandotte — including the women — joined. 
But about forty escaped of the two hundred cavalrymen — 
many of whom were shot by the Guj'-andotte people as they 
were trying to escape by swimming the river. This bloody 
act was followed by a just retribution. The town was reduced 
to ashes by the Unionists, who quickly gathered to avenge the 
atrocious conduct of citizens whom they had respected. 

The Southern " muse," of course, made itself heard during 
the contest. If the poetry was detestable as poetry, it was 
never lacking in the spirit which comes of the intense emo- 
tions of hate and scorn. The following is one of the best 
effusions made public. It first appeared in a Virginia paper : 



OF THE WAR. 389 

Whoop J the Doodles have broken loose, 
Roaring round like the very deuce ! 
Life of Egypt, a hungry pack, 
After 'em, boys, and drive 'em back. 

Bull-dog, terrier, cur and lice, 

Back to the beggardly land of ice ; > 

Worry 'em, bite 'em, scratch and tear 

Everybody and everywhere. 

Old Kentucky 's caved from under, 
Tennessee is split asunder, 
Alabama awaits attack. 
And Georgia bristles at her back. 

Old John Brown is dead and gone ! 
Btill his spirit is marching on, 
Lantern-jawed, and legs, my boys, 
Long as Apes from Illinois ! 

Want a weapon ? Gather a brick I 
Club or cudgel, or stone or stick ; 
Anything with a blade or butt. 
Anything that can cleave or cut. 

Anything heavy, or hard, or keen I 
Any sort of a slaying machine ! 
Anj'thing with a willing mind. 
And the steady arm of a man behind. 

Want a weapon ? Why, capture one ! 
Every Doodle has got a gun, 
Belt and bayonet, bright and new, 
Kill a Doodle, and capture two ! 

Shoulder to shoulder, son and sire ! 
All ! call all ! to the feast of fire 1 
Mother and maiden, and child and slave, 
A common triumph, or a single grave. 

Rebel atrocities were renewed at the campaign before Ricli- 
mond. Such evidence was obtained as left no doubt upon the 
minds of even the most ardent sympathiser with the rebels, 
that there were men in the Confederate army ca|)able of almost 
any atrocity. A letter from a member of the Eighth New 
Jersey volunteers, gave the following painful relation of the 
indignities heaped, at the battle of Williamsburg, upon oui" 
2h2 



390 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

wounded officers and men, whom the varying fortunes of the 
struggle, for a brief period, placed in their possession : 

" Major Ejerson fell bravely. No \yords can do more than justice to 
his coolness and courage. Unfortunately we were not able to get his 
body off the field in the jjressure of the engagement. Some of the 
enemy came across him, and with their usual brutality and worse than 
heathen barbarism, stripped him of all he had about him, save his 
shirt and pants. They did the same with Lieutenant-Colonel Van 
Lear's body (of tlie Sixth New Jersey volunteers). In fixct they served 
all in the same way, turning out the jjockets of every stricken soldier 
they met. Nor did they stop at this robbery of the dead. They per- 
petrated savage outrages upon them, bayoneting the wounded and 
breaking in the skulls of the dead with tlie butts of muskets, until tb.e 
brain laid entirely bare upon the earth beside the body ! This is fear- 
ful to recount — almost too shocking. But it is true. And I give it to 
show to those who laud southern honor, chivalry and nobleness, what 
southern honor and chivalry and nobleness consist in. I dare not longer 
dwell on this. My feelings of indignation might lead to language un- 
becoming a Christian. Though, in truth, no language to express dis- 
gust and contempt of such deeds as I have recounted could well De too 
strong." 

This horrible statement was more than confirmed bj the 
correspondent of the New York Times^ who wrote from the 
field : " Major Ejerson, of the New Jersey brigade, fell wounded 
in the action of Monday, and two oincers who undertook to 
carry him from the field were shot in the attempt. A couple 
of privates then sprang to his assistance, but he advised them 
to leave him for their own safety, telling them that he was not 
dangerously injured, and had nothing to fear from the enemy; 
but when the field was searched the next day for the dead, he 
was found Ij'ing among them, with six bayonet wounds in his 
breast, his ears slit, and his body nearly sti-ipped of clothing." 
The Comanches would not have done woi-se. It was wonder- 
ful that, seeing these things, the Fedei'al troops did not seek to 
retaliate, but, in no single instance, are we aware of any other 
than the most humane and considerate treatment being meted 
out to wounded rebel prisoners in our hands. Occasionally 
threats were uttered by the men of particular regiments, some 
of whose wounded members had suffered outrao-e and murder 



OF THE WAR. 391 

at the hands of the villains, who comprised full one-half of the 
rebel army. Thus, a member of the New York Sixteenth 
said, in writing of the Williamsburg fight : " It is hardly 
necessary to say that officers and men are very much exasper- 
ated by the barbarous conduct of some of the rebels — bayonet- 
ing the dead, cutting the throats of the wounded, and, in one 
instance, beating with the butt of a musket the skull of a 
drummer-boy, who had received a wound which might well be 
presumed to be mortal. * This war ought to have been one 
of extermination from the first,' was read, recently, either in a 
rebel newspaper, or in some of the choice specimens of litera- 
ture left in the camps. The army of the Potomac is quite 
ready to accept that rule ; possibly to press it. Certainly I 
should pity any rebel who should ask a favor of the men of 
the Sixteenth New York.' " 

Occasionally, also, a villain here and there got his deserts. 
Two notorious " bush-whackers," named Koehl and Weimer, 
were hung at Sutton, Yirginia, having been convicted of mur- 
der. These barbarous wretches, during the latter part of the 
summer of 1861, caught a poor boy who had been driving a 
Government team alone on the road. They inhumanly cut off 
his head wnth a scythe, and disemboweled him ; and, in their 
fiendish joy, boasted that they had killed one Yankee. They 
were captured, convicted of the murder, and executed. Their 
unusual brutality was fully proven at the trial. 

We could multiply instances of this painful character, but 
have given enough to answer our purpose, viz. : to show that 
a thirst for revenge was one of the inspiring motives which 
filled and fired the Southern heart. It will take two genera- 
tions of prosperity to banish from such breasts the evil effects 
of the passions engendered in the brief struggle for " Southern 
Independence." 



XLI. 



ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 

"We ■find at our disposal an immense number of excerpts, 
illustrative of tlie facts and humors of the service. Our 
volume would scarce contain them all. We have already 
given many of the incidents which transpired on certain fields ; 
and will, now, reproduce such as seem to possess more than a 
passing interest. 

The music of bullets and balls is referred to frequently in 
accounts of battles. A soldier, critical in musical intonation 
and the graduation of scales, gave us these notes, explanatory 
and commentary on the " performances" of the death-dealing 
messengei's : 

" It is a very good place to exercise tlie mind, "witli tlie enemy's picket 
rattling close at band. A musical ear can study the different tones of 
the bullets <is they slcim through the air. I caught the pitch of a large- 
sized Minie yesterday — it was a swell from E flat to F, and as it passed 
into the distance^ and lost its velocity, receded to D — a very pretty 
change. One of the most startling sounds is that produced by the 
Hotchkiss shell. It comes like the shriek of a demon, and the bravest 
old soldiers feel like ducking when they hear it. It is no more destruc- 
tive than some other missiles, but there is a great deal in mere sound to 
Avork upon men's fears. 

" The tremendous scream is caused by a ragged edge of lead, which 
is left on the shell. In favorable positions of light, the phenomena can 
sometimes be seen, as you stand directly behind a gun, of the clinging 
of the air to the l)all. The ball seems to gather uj> the atmosphere and 
carry it along, as the earth carries its atmosphere through si)ace. Men 
are frequently killed by the wind of a cannon-shot. There is a law 
which causes the atmorphere to cling to the earth, or which presses 



OF THE WAR. 393 

upon it with a force, at the surface, of fifteen pounds to the square inch ; 
docs the same law, or a modification, pertain to cannon-balls in flight? 
I do not remember of meeting with a discussion of the subject in any 
published work. It is certainly an interesting i)hilosophic question." 

A good story is related of Colonel Merideth, of the Nine- 
teenth Indiana volunteers, regarding his principles and practice 
in dodging hullets. It runs : " At the Lewisville skirmish, the 
Colonel was at the head of his men, as they were formed in 
line of battle, under the fire of the enemy. As the shells ex- 
ploded over them, his bo_ys would involuntarily duck their 
heads. The Colonel saw their motions, and, in a pleasant way, 
exhorted them, as he rode along the line, to hold up their 
heads and act like men. He turned to speak to one of his 
officers, and at that moment an eighteen-pounder shell burst 
within a few yards of him, scattering its fragments in all direc- 
tions. Instinctively he jerked his head almost to the saddle- 
bow, while his horse squatted with fear. 'Bo^'S,' said he, as 
he raised up and reined his steed, ' you may dodge the large 
ones ! ' A laugh ran along the line at his expense, and after 
that no more was said about the impropriety of dodging 
shells." 

There is power in music to send men into the fray with the 
•wild abandon which inspires them in the dance. At the battle 
of Williamsburg, Heintzelman's brigade for some time with- 
stood the terrific shock of the assault of the enemy, fully 
numbering three men to his one. Worn out with fighting, it 
was evident that he must give way if reenforcements did not 
come up to his relief At that critical and anxious moment, 
Brigadier-General Berry, of Maine, came in sight, with his fine 
brigade, upon a run. Ileintzelinan huzzaed with gratitude. 
Ho ran to the nearest band, and ordered it to meet the coming 
regiments with " Yankee Doodle,'' and to give them marching time 
into the field ivith the " Star-Spangled Banner." A wild " hur- 
rah !" went up from the arniy, and, with a yell that was elec- 
tric, three regiments of Berry's brigade went to the front, 
formed a line nearly half a-mile long, and commenced a volley 
firing that no troops on earth could stand before — then, at the 
50 



394 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

double-quicic, claslicil with the bayonet at the rebel army, and 
sent them flying from the field into their earthworks, pursued 
them into the largest of them, drove them out behind with the 
pure steel, and then invited them to retake it. The attempt 
was repeatedly made, and repeatedly repulsed. The count of 
the rebel dead in that battery, at the close of the fight, was 
fearful evidence of the tenacity of the ISTorthern ti-oops. They 
were principally Michigan men who did this work The equi- 
librium of the battle was restored. 

This t-enacity of the Northern troops was illustrated on 
many a field. Eead our account of the Ball's Bluff disaster, 
of the Missouri campaign, of the Pittsburg Landing struggles, 
where our men seemed to court death. The same virtue was 
more splendidly illustrated in the six daj^s struggle (June 27th- 
July 2d) of McClellan's army in its retreat for realignment on 
the James Eiver. The history of modern warfare does not 
present an instance of greater endurance, heroism, devotion to 
orders and desire for the close quarters of deadly conflict. It 
was an almost ceaseless struggle of life and death, wherein 
men freely walked into the fire to leave on the ground one 
half of their numbers. The General who could educate his 
men up to that point of duty possesses elements of greatness 
even though his campaigns should prove failures. 

At Bull Eun, prior to the " panic," the men, as a general 
thing, fought splendidly. The records of that two days battle 
are alive with deeds of true heroism — some of which we 
already have recounted, (see pages 178-187.) One incident, 
not there recurred to, deserves mention, bringing out in bold 
relief as it does the prowess of men brought up in the forest 
and familiar with danger from their childhood. 

" On the evening previous to the battle of Sunday, two of the Minne- 
sota boys took it into their lieacls to forage a little, for amusement as 
well as eatables. Striking out from their encampment into the forest 
they followed a narrow road some distance, until, turning a bend, five 
secession pickets appeared not fifty yards distant. The parties discov- 
ered each other simultaneously, and at once leveled their ri;les and fired. 
Two of the Confederates fell dead, and one of the Minnesotians, the 
other also, falling, however, but with the design of trapping the other 



OF THE "WAR. 395 

three, wlio at once came up, as they said, to ' examine the d — d Yankees.' 
Drawing his revolver, the Minncsotian found he had but two barrels 
loaded, and with these he shot two of the picket. Springing to his 
feet, and snatching his saber bayonet from his rifle, he lunged at che 
survivor, who proved to be a stalwart lieutenant, armed only with a 
heavy sword. The superior skill of the Southerner was taxed to the 
utmost in parrying the vigorous thrusts and lunges of the brawny lum- 
berman: and for several minutes the contest waged in silence, broken 
only by the rustle of the long grass by the roadside and the clash of 
their weapons. Feigning fatigue, the Minnesotian fell back a few 
steps, and as his adversary closed upon him with a cat-like spring, he 
let his saber come down on the head of his antagonist, and the game 
was up. Collecting the arms of the secessionists, he returned to the 
camp, where he obtained assistance, and buried the bodies of his com- 
panion and his foes in one grave." 

An equally exciting story is told of a member of tlie Tenth 
Massachusetts, who was taken prisoner at the battle of Fair 
Oaks. A guard of two Ahabamians was placed over him 
temporarily. Seeing a New York regiment approaching, the 
Massachusetts man concluded to '■'■ secede.''' He "pitched into" 
his guards, knocking down and disarming both of the South- 
ern gentlemen before they were aware of the Yankee's design. 
But Yankee was not then ready to leave. A wounded com- 
rade was placed on a rude litter and the two Alabamians were 
made to bear the burden into the New York ranks. 

The women of the South proved, at times, more unconquer- 
able enemies than the men. Their unbridled tongues ran to a 
vocabulary of epithets and passion perfectly astonishing to the 
Northern men, who had been led to believe that a Southern 
woman was a superior creature. Oar troops learned, in their 
campaigns, that the spirit of secession made demons of men 
and furies of women, and few of them will return home to 
entertain respect for the females of the South who unsexed 
themselves to prove their scorn of " the Yankees." 

How brightly the story of the war is illuminated by the 
sacrifices of many of the women of the North ! As nurses — 
as beneficiaries and directors of relief and sui^ply associations — 
as ministers of hope to the hospital and the camp — their record 
is one to make Northern men rejoice to claim them as mothers, 



396 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

sisters, wives and friends. It will be a precious volume that 
'•elates their good deeds and blessed ministrations. From the 
floble Sisters of Mercy to the humble, self sacrificing woman 
who toiled alone to do something for her beloved ones in the 
field, it is one ceaseless story of a devotion over which the 
angels must have rejoiced. May the book of their deeds be 
written ! 

After the battle at Pittsburg Landing, great numbers of per- 
sons flocked to the vicinity of the conflict to look after their 
dear ones dead or wounded. Many affecting stories were re- 
lated. A lady in search of her boy, reported " wounded," ex- 
amined all the hospitals to find her treasure. She passed 
through the various wards, and saw none whom she could 
recognize as her boy. After looking in vain, and scanning 
closelj'' every countenance, she was about to retire in sorrow 
and disappointment, when a poor emaciated lad — a mere 
shadow of humanity — who had severely suffered from fever 
and disease, feebly uttered, Mother I The lady turned and 
looked upon the poor sufferer, but could see no likeness of 
her bo}'-, who so recently had left home in the bloom of youth 
and health. Again the lad feebly articulated, Mother ! The 
tears started from the eyes of the good woman, as she thought 

of her own boy. A gentleman standing near — a Mr. S , 

of New York — said : " Madame, I can see a likeness of you 
in that boy ; it must be j'our son." The mother asked his 
name, and with scarcely strength enough to speak, he managed 
to utter almost inarticulately his name, when the lady saw it 
was her bo}'-. The gentleman who narrated this, added : 
" This is a sample of many such cases, the result of the fevers 
to which the unacclimated are incident." 

Another painfully interesting incident is related of the m.an- 
iier in which Mrs. Pfieflf, the wife of Lieutenant Louis Pfieff, 
of Chicago, who was killed at Pittsburg Landing, was enabled 
to find her husband's body. No person, when she arrived on 
the field, could inform her where her husband's body was 
buried ; and after searching among the thousands of graves 
for half a day, she was about to abandon the pursuit in despair. 



OF THE WAR. 397 

Suddenly she saw a large dog coming toward lier, whicli sLc 
recognized as one which had left Chicago with her husband. 
The dog seemed delighted to find her, and led her to a distant 
part of the field, where he stopped before a single grave. She 
caused it to be opened, and found the body of her husband. 
It appears, by the statements of the soldiers, that the dof^^ was 
by the side of the Lieutenant when he fell, and remained with 
him till he was buried. lie then took his station by the 
gi-ave, and there he had remained for twelve days, until re- 
lieved by the arrival of his mistress, only leaving his post 
long enough each day to procure food. This is a well authen- 
ticated incident, and will go far toward relieving the race of 
dogs from the odium which some would attach to tlieir species. 

A woman was regularly commissioned Major for her ser- 
vices on the field. Governor Yates, of Illinois, recognized the 
eminent and beneficent labors of Mrs. Eeynolds, of Peoria, wife 
of Lieutenant Reynolds, (Company A, Seventeenth Illinois 
volunteers,) by conferring on her the commission. The lady 
accompanied her husband through the greater part of the cam- 
paign through which the Seventeeth passed, sharing with him 
the dangers and privations of a soldier s life. She was present 
at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and, like a ministering 
angel, attended to the wants of as many of the wounded and 
dying soldiers as she could, thus winning the gratitude and 
esteem of the brave fellows by whom she was surrounded. 
Governor Yates, hearin.g of her heroic and praisewoi'thy con- 
duct, presented her with a commission as Major in the Army 
— the document conferring the well-merited honor being made 
out with all due formality, and having attached the great seal 
of the State. 

Among some of the most painful experiences of the war, 
were those wherein Northern men were first made familiar 
with the dark side of the institution of Slaverj/. Throughout 
the South, where the Union forces penetrated, slaves and mas- 
ters were, of necessity, forced upon the attention of the troops. 
The negro, lons;ins: for freedom, would seek our lines for 
safety, and, to prevent such desertion the master would resort 
2i 



398 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

to even more rigorous measures than usual — inflicting punish- 
ments which were, indeed, well calculated to inspire terror and 
to repress effort to escape. In a few instances only were these 
shocking brutalities toward slaves properly punished. General 
Butler — himself a life-long friend and supporter of the institu- 
tion of Slavery — was called upon to consider a case, upon his 
first assumption of power in New Orleans. It at once so 
shocked him, as to induce the exercise of all his power in its 
punishment. The case was this : 

A citizen of New Orleans (one William T. Hunter) had his 
house visited, by order of the military authorities, to discover 
the store of arms, etc., known to be secreted on the premises. 
Hunter being absent, his wife directed a negro woman to show 
the guard over the house, which she did. Arms, tents, etc., 
were found. Hunter soon returned, to find that not only were 
the " contraband." articles gone, but that the negro woman had 
followed the guard away. Mrs. Hunter had, however, recov- 
ered the slave — who, it would appear, simply followed the 
cortege away out of curiosity, and would soon have returned of 
her own accord. Hunter, however, resolved to " punish" his 
servant property for her crime. Taking down the heavy whip 
used for negro whipping, he beat the woman cruelly over the 
head. Tiring of this, he took her down into the back-yard, to 
" the block," to which she was chained — Mrs. Hunter herself 
fastening the shackles. 

"The liusband and wife then threw the servant down upon her back, 
fastened her hands to the feet of anotlier servant, who was forced to 
hokl the girl out to lier full length. The girl was then subjected to 
head-shaving ; her clothes were next removed, and Hunter beat the 
exhausted creature with the horsewhip until he was too tired to stand. 
He then called for a chair^ sat down, and finished his irutal beating in a 
sitting posture. The screams of the sufterer attracted the attention of 
the neighborhood. One neiglibor sent intelligence of what was trans- 
piring to General Butler. Before Avord reached the General the mon- 
ster had flayed the back of liis slave until it became raw — icashed her 
doicn loith h'ine, threw her into a wagon, and, at nine o'clock at night, 
conveyed her to the parish jorison, with the pleasing information thiit 
the rest of the beating — to the extent of three hundred lashes — would 
be inflicted in the morning." 



OF THE WAR. 399 

Batler was horrified at that early lesson of the "rights of 
masters over slaves." He ordered Hunter, his wife and the 
slave woman into his presence early on the following morning, 
and, with his own eyes, beheld the shocking sight — a human 
being, a woman — beaten almost into a jelly for no greater 
crime than running down with the crowd, to the Federal quar- 
ters. Butler gave the villain — who was one of the "most 
respectable citizens" of the city — such a talk as the case de- 
manded, and ended by committing the inhuman creature to 
Fort Jackson. Hunter demurred to the incarceration saying 
he had brought along with him a physician to prove that he 
had been sick for six months. Butler sternly remarked that 
all the proof he wanted was in that woman's back — if Hunter 
was able to flog a human being in that manner he was strong 
enough to suffer punishment for it. "And be careful," said 
the irate General, " that you behave yourself perfectly, for I 
shall order you to be flogged and your back to be washed 
down with brine if any insolence is offered." And the fellow 
was marched off to Fort Jackson while the slave was taken 
from her mistress — who was one of the leading ladies of New 
Orleans — and turned over to the Thirteenth Connecticut regi- 
ment as a laundress. 

This case greatly excited the indignation of the New Orleans 
people, who saw in it "an invasion of their constitutional 
rights" — that Butler should have dared to incarcerate a citizen 
for simply beating his slave ! He had a right to beat her, 
under the laws of the State; and, in sitting in judgment on 
the case, Butler had exceeded his authority and had set a 
dangerous precedent ! Perhaps he did exceed his authority 
and sit in judgment on a case belonging to the civil authori- 
ties; but even B. F. Butler was a "higher law" man when 
emergencies required, and, what was strange, the " conserva- 
tives" in Congress did not call for an inquiry into the matter, 
nor demand the General's recall ! Had he been some "aboli- 
tion" General, instead of an old "Hard Shell" Breckenridge 
Democrat, Butler would have seen th« liglitning and heaid the 
thunder of several Congi-essmcn whose labors were chiefly 



400 INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES 

devoted to the end of securing to outlaws, assassins, tliieves 
and trait(;rs " constitutional riglits." Nero fiddled while tlio 
torch A\-as applied to Eome, but Eome had no Senators base 
enough to prate of the "constitutional rights" of the incendia- 
ries and emissaries enforcing the orders of a monster. There 
v^as no Vallandigham there — alas for the memory of Nero I 

We have before us, in a letter from an officer in an Indiana 
regiment serving in Arkansas in Ma}^, 1862, a little incident 
of adventure and experience which may be quoted. He saj-s : 

" Yesterday my heart was fearfully agitated by a sight I shall never 
forget. Wc traveled eight miles, and stopped for breakfast at a rich 
I^lanter's house. While breakfast was preparing I heard one of the 
soldiers remark that in a certain cabin there was a woman with a chain 
around lier neck. I walked to the cabin, opened the door, and saw 
that which made my heart sick. A woman in chains ! It is true she 
was yellow in complexion. There icas negro blood in her veins. She 
was a quadroon, with regular features. ' Who placed this chain around 
your neck ? ' ' That man.' ' What man ? ' ' The owner of this jjlace.' 
' What did he do it for?' 'For running away; I am not his; I was 
stole from St. Louis. Oh, do save uie and my little boy. He gave me 
three hundred lashes last night. The dear Lord save me. Look at my 
feet.' I looked. There Avas blood upon her ankles and feet as it had 
trickled down her person. I sent for the master ; he came. ' Take that 
chain from that woman's neck.' lie hesitated. ' Tdce it auay ! \ The 
chain was removed. I have done this on my own responsibility. I 
snppose I have violated the law, and made myself liable to be tried by 
court-martial, and perhai)s cashiered." 

"Made myself liable to the law." Then the law does give a 
man the right to place chains on a woman's neck, to whip her 
with three hundred lashes, and to punish those who gainsay 
that right? The answer is, it does! Let Christian men, who 
have respect for the law, see to it that, in the new order of 
things which must follow the straggle for the Union's life, th.e 
rigid of a man to flay a woman alive, at his pleasure, may be 
made one of the things of the past. 



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